Evergreen Joins MSC and Maersk on Suez Canal Return

November 7 brought Evergreen's first Suez Canal transit in almost three years. The container ship Ever Eon, 16,556 TEU, cleared the canal that day on the NEU7/CES service, according to Kuehne+Nagel. The Ever Edit follows on November 11. The Ever Gifted on November 17.

Drewry's weekly tracker showed 53 containerships crossing in the week ended November 1, up 130% on the same period a year earlier. Around 60% of Asia-Europe container capacity is now back on the Suez route, Drewry estimated. Kuehne+Nagel put the share at around 70%.

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd had already committed their ME1 India-Europe container service to the same route in early November. The Atlanta Express left Salalah on November 4 as the first westbound ME1 voyage, Baird Maritime reported. MSC was the most aggressive line in returning, according to Kuehne+Nagel.

By October, container capacity through the Suez Canal had crossed half its pre-crisis level for the first time since Houthi attacks began. Zim was the last holdout. By November 1, the line remained committed to the Cape of Good Hope route, according to Kuehne+Nagel.