Two CMA CGM vessels navigate the Suez Canal in sign of easing tension

Two vessels from CMA CGM, the world's third-largest container shipping line, have travelled through the Suez Canal, the authority that runs the waterway said on Tuesday, in a sign the disruptions linked to the Gaza war could be easing.

While the Suez Canal provides the fastest link between Asia and Europe, since November 2023, shipping companies have had to take much longer routes because Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants attacked commercial vessels, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians during warfare in Gaza.

CMA CGM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously said it sends vessels through Suez and the Red Sea on a case-by-case basis when security allows.

Companies remain cautious, but since a fragile ceasefire in Gaza took effect on October 10, no Houthi attacks on ships have been reported, leading shipping companies to reconsider using the Suez Canal, which Egypt counts on as a major source of foreign currency. 

The canal's authority said on Tuesday that the vessel CMA CGM Jacques Saade crossed the canal from the north on its journey from Morocco to Malaysia, while the CMA CGM Adonis passed from the south.

The Jacques Saade, named after the founder of the family-owned firm, operates on an Asia-North Europe circuit while the Adonis runs on an Asia-Mediterranean rotation, CMA CGM's website showed.

A schedule published on its website also showed that the French company will use the passage for its India-U.S. INDAMEX service from January.

On Friday, Maersk said that one of its vessels had navigated the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait between Yemen and the Horn of Africa for the first time in nearly two years.

The Danish company said it had no firm plans to fully reopen the route, but would take a "stepwise approach towards gradually resuming navigation".