AIS data appears to confirm that a CMA CGM vessel is currently on its way to the Suez Canal, further evidence that CMA CGM will be the first liner operator to resume regular Red Sea voyages.

The load of 11400 teu container ship "CGM Columba" - deployed in Europe, the Middle East/India routes on the EPIC, over the weekend from Spain hub algeciras, travel to hebei entrance.

According to AIS data, the ship is expected to arrive on the evening of January 22 and is expected to head south the following day.

Analysts at Linerlytica noted that the ship passed through the Suez Canal on its westbound return voyage last month.

Since the start of the Red Sea crisis, ships on the EPIC route (jointly operated by COSCO Shipping and OOCL, of which ONE is also a charterer) have detoured the Cape of Good Hope, requiring the route to be expanded to 13 ships due to the longer range.

EPIC's eastbound route will call at the Saudi Red Sea port of Jeddah, which was the kingdom's main container gateway before the crisis but has been dropped from the plan since the Cape of Good Hope route was rerouted, instead being served by feeder vessels from a hub port in the United Arab Emirates.

In an analysis last week, Destine Ozuygur, head of operations and forecasting at eeSea, predicted that, given the "looser-timed launch of Ocean Alliance's new Day 9 route network in April, and tests conducted by CMA CGM, Orient Overseas and COSCO Shipping on non-alliance routes they work with, We are likely to see this liner on these routes first."

Ozuygur noted that CMA CGM Titus, the 8,500 teu container ship currently deployed on the Europe-Middle East/India Medex route, is also operating in partnership with COSCO Shipping and OOCL.

CMA CGM Titus, deployed on the Medex route since August 2022, "is the only vessel in this 11-class route to share Suez Canal crossings in the final months of 2024 and actually completed these crossings on November 23 and December 31," she said.

The ship was due to complete its next Cape of Good Hope transit on February 12, but Ozuygur added: "Given that the ship is now expected to sail to the port of Marsaxe Locks on January 18, they still have the option of returning to Jeddah via the Mediterranean Sea route."

According to AIS data, CMA CGM Titus is currently moored at CMA CGM's Malta hub.