Red Sea and Hormuz: are ships going through?

• 31 December 2026: the current Suez Canal Authority transit incentives, including the container-ship discounts, are due to end. Source: nowlun.com

• Lloyd's List Intelligence: "At least half of capacity has been restored as carriers continue to switch back from the Cape of Good Hope diversion route." Source: lloydslistintelligence.com (as of 29 October 2026)
• Lloyd's List Intelligence: "281 containerships, equivalent to 3m teu, have passed through the Suez Canal" in the past four weeks, which it says is more than double the capacity in August. (TEU means twenty-foot equivalent units, the standard measure of container capacity.) Source: lloydslistintelligence.com (as of 29 October 2026)
• Red Sea security: "Threat to shipping remains substantial in Red Sea, but there have been no recent incidents reported." The same brief says "there have been no attacks since August 24." Source: lloydslistintelligence.com (as of 29 October 2026)
• Lloyd's List Intelligence says Suez Canal tonnage is still 36% below the level before the Houthi attacks on shipping began. Bab el-Mandeb tonnage is 46% below that level. Source: lloydslistintelligence.com (as of 29 October 2026)
• Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, partners in the Gemini Cooperation alliance, announced on 13 September that they would move their AE5, AE11, AE12 and ME2 services to the Suez route. These join AE15 and AE19, which already use the canal. The first westbound sailings were AE11 on 19 September, AE5 on 21 September and ME2 on 24 September. Both carriers said further network changes depend on continued Red Sea stability and "the absence of further escalation." Source: gcaptain.com (as of 14 September 2026)
• MSC said: "MSC has decided to partially restore Suez Canal transits on a limited number of its East-West services". The services named were Jade, Albatros, Himalaya and Tiger. Source: maritime-executive.com (as of 25 August 2026)
• The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) suspended its 15% transit-fee rebate for container ships of 130,000 gross tonnage and above from 7 April 2026. Source: hellenicshippingnews.com (as of 8 April 2026)
• The SCA has extended transit incentives "through 31 December 2026". These include "A 15% discount for container vessels operating between North West Europe and South East Asia" and "Discounts of up to 60% for container vessels on the East Coast of the Americas to the South East Asia trade lane". Source: nowlun.com (as of 1 June 2026)
• Hormuz: "October has been the worst month for attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and nearby waterways". There were 28 confirmed and reported attacks in October and 113 since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on 28 February. Source: al-monitor.com (as of 23 October 2026)
• Hormuz: "Hormuz traffic remains relatively elevated despite an intensification of Iranian attacks." Lloyd's List Intelligence reports that attacks have spread to "containerships, bulk carriers and gas carriers". It also says "US Central Command continues to enforce its blockade" of Iranian ports. Source: lloydslistintelligence.com (as of 22 October 2026)

Houthi attacks pushed container lines to divert around the Cape of Good Hope. Suez Canal tonnage is still 36% below the level before that crisis, even as carriers switch back (lloydslistintelligence.com). Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd say further network changes depend on continued Red Sea stability and no further escalation (gcaptain.com). Since 28 February, the war with Iran has led to 113 reported attacks on ships around Hormuz (al-monitor.com).