Evergreen Sends Three Giant Container Ships Back Toward the Suez Route
Deployments of 53,236 TEU from 7 November mark the first large-scale return by an Ocean Alliance carrier since the Red Sea disruptions.
Evergreen is redeploying three large container ships — approximately 53,236 TEU of capacity — back toward Suez-route services from 7 November, with further sailings around 11 and 16–17 November, according to industry coverage on 5 November. The Taiwan-based carrier is the last Ocean Alliance member to resume the route, following earlier moves by CMA CGM and others. Analysts at Linerlytica project the alliances' full return to the Red Sea corridor by the first quarter of 2027, while Israel's ZIM is becoming increasingly isolated on the Cape of Good Hope routing.
Xeneta analysts estimate that a full return to Suez could release 6–8 percent of effective container capacity back into the market, a figure with direct implications for 2027 freight rates and contract negotiations. For forwarders and shippers planning next year's contracts, the gradual normalization of the shortest Asia–Europe corridor — and the divergent position of carriers still avoiding it — is becoming a central variable in capacity and pricing outlooks.