Alphaliner: 63% of Asia-Europe Capacity Now Transits the Red Sea

According to an Alphaliner survey, 63% of the container capacity deployed between the Far East and Europe is now accounted for by services recording transits through the Red Sea. The study analyzed the networks of the world's ten largest carriers between September 15 and October 15, 2026, and identified Red Sea crossings in 24 of the 46 direct services connecting the two regions.

In terms of volume, these services represent 5.5 million TEU out of a total of 8.7 million deployed on the trade. The share rises to nearly 70% on Far East-Mediterranean services and stands at 58% on those connecting with North Europe. Alphaliner notes that the return is still partial, as some routings transit Bab el-Mandeb and the Red Sea toward Europe but return to Asia via the Cape of Good Hope.

CMA CGM is the carrier that maintained Red Sea transits throughout the crisis, while COSCO Shipping, OOCL, Maersk and MSC subsequently redeployed vessels on that route. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are also rebuilding their Suez routings through Gemini Cooperation, with the AE5, AE11, AE12 and ME2 services shifting from the Cape of Good Hope to the Egyptian canal, and with revised ME2 and AE12 rotations announced on October 19 that already include Suez. Among Premier Alliance carriers, HMM, Ocean Network Express and Yang Ming were preparing new returns, while Evergreen and Israel's ZIM remained, among the top ten, the only ones yet to resume transits.

The Suez Canal Authority recorded 276 Maersk-linked transits totaling 23.3 million net tons between January and September 2026, compared with 146 transits and 7 million tons in the same period of 2025. Separately, Lloyd's List reported that more than 100 vessels above 16,000 TEU have crossed the Suez Canal since September, with megamax transits reaching a post-crisis high in October and Cape diversions falling to their lowest level since January 2024, although total capacity remains below pre-crisis levels.

The return to the Suez route comes as the third anniversary approaches of the seizure of the car carrier Galaxy Leader, which took place on November 19, 2023, and marked the start of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Alphaliner attributes the recovery in transits to easing tensions near the Bab el-Mandeb strait, though it warns that security conditions remain variable. The Suez route saves around two weeks of sailing time compared with the Cape of Good Hope diversion and reduces fuel consumption, a relevant factor amid rising energy costs, with VLSFO reaching US$881 per ton in Singapore on October 11, up 97% year-on-year.