Container Shipping Quarterly

Special Report

Red Sea route raises container shipping security, overcapacity risks

By Greg Knowler

Nearly three years after the Houthis began attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea, container lines are returning to the significantly faster Suez Canal route and, in turn, injecting a significant amount of effective capacity to their global networks.

Major carriers including Mediterranean Shipping Co.( MSC), CMA CGM, Cosco Shipping and subsidiary OOCL, and the Gemini Cooperation of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have begun sending vessels through the waterway, particularly on Asia – Europe services.

In all, nearly one-third of the deep-sea traffic between Asia and Europe that was diverted around southern Africa when Houthi attacks began in 2023 has returned to the Suez route, according to Xeneta, which estimates 213,000 TEUs of Asia – Europe vessel capacity is moving through the waterway every week.

At the same time, the conflict between the Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi Arabia appears to be escalating, with the Houthis taking control of several strategic areas in and around the Bab-el Mandab Strait, the narrow opening at the southern end of the Red Sea. Although no container ships have been attacked en route to or from the Suez Canal in over a year, several oil tankers bound for Saudi Arabian ports were targeted in August and September, resulting in multiple fatalities.

US President Donald Trump, who in July said the Houthis had, prior to stepping up their offensive against Saudi Arabia,“ acted very professionally and smart,” has ignored Riyadh’ s pleas to take a harder line and risk endangering commercial traffic.

But the current security situation— and the potential for further escalation— begs an important question: why now?

“ The reality right now is that the military action by the Houthi seems to be directed at Saudi oil tankers and not at container ships,” Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime and a Journal of Commerce contributor, told the Halifax Supply Chain Forum.“ For now, the container lines clearly believe that now is a time for normalization, and we have to see that as a baseline.”

James Hookham, director of the Global Shippers Forum, said that“ given the still-far-from-resolved security situation

10 Journal of Commerce | October 5, 2026 www. joc. com