MSC Restores Red Sea Sailings as Port Congestion Holds
Bloomberg's Supply Lines newsletter reported on August 26, 2026 that MSC, the largest container carrier, is partially restoring services through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, following what the carrier described as a comprehensive review of security and operational conditions in the region. The change applies to sailings in both directions between Asia and Europe and comes almost two months after partial rerouting plans announced by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd.
Daily northbound and southbound Suez transits by container ships remain below their earlier levels and have been rising in recent weeks. Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos, wrote that the steps are “the start of a gradual return to normal levels of container traffic.” The same note records that port congestion has increased.
A shorter routing releases effective capacity, and released capacity usually shows up first as easier space and steadier transit rather than as a lower rate. The offsetting line in the same reporting is port congestion, which has not eased. Planners get the benefit at sea and keep the constraint at the terminal, so inbound plans built on the shorter routing still need the landside buffer they needed before.