The Premier Alliance unveiled its updated 2026 network Monday with services from Asia to Europe, the Mediterranean and US East Coast continuing to divert around southern Africa to avoid passing through the Red Sea.

Premier Alliance members Ocean Network Express (ONE), HMM and Yang Ming said they were “closely monitoring” the situation around the Red Sea with the focus on the safety of the crew, ship and cargo.

ONE CEO Jeremy Nixon said in a statement that the 2026 product was designed to be flexible and reliable to support global trade “while prioritizing safety and stability amid geopolitical uncertainties.”

South Korean flagship HMM noted the “evolving situation in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Suez Canal” and promised “timely communication and support” for customers should services return to the shorter route.

Peter Sand, chief analyst for rate benchmarking platform Xeneta, said the risk assessment currently being carried out by ocean carriers would consider the ability, opportunity and intent of Houthi militants to attack ships from their base in Yemen.

“Though we have seen a growing interest in Suez transits in the past months, it’s still not at a point where the large-scale return is imminent,” Sand told the Journal of Commerce. “Premier Alliance have not been leading the ‘testing of waters,’ and we know that Japanese owners [of ONE] in general are amongst the most risk-averse ship owners.”

CMA CGM’s Indamex service from Jan. 15 will transit the Suez Canal on fronthaul and backhaul voyages between India/Pakistan and the US East Coast.

Tempering market optimism

Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime and a Journal of Commerce contributor, said although there was growing market optimism related to a return to the Red Sea, there was little clarity to support this.

“Today, the Houthi Ministry of Foreign Affairs cautioned against what they termed ‘continued Zionist escalation in Gaza and flagrant violations of the ceasefire agreement,’” Jensen wrote in a LinkedIn post Monday.

“This can be interpreted as a thinly veiled threat that they could choose to end their self-imposed ceasefire against merchant shipping unless the situation in Gaza develops in a way they see as more favorable,” he added.

While the Premier Alliance rolls out its 2026 network, Sand said one area where shippers will be looking closely is schedule reliability. Xeneta data shows that Premier Alliance began at a global reliability of 36% in the first quarter, sliding to 22% in the third quarter before inching up to 23% thus far in the fourth quarter.

Sand said across the services offered under the 2026 network, it appears the alliance will call fewer ports and, “that in itself could prove to be one pathway to better on-time performance.”

In its updated 2026 product, HMM said its role in the Premier Alliance network would be bolstered by additional capacity from new vessels that will be delivered through 2026. The carrier has 20 ships on order — 12 vessels of 13,000 TEUs and eight of 14,000 TEUs.

“This updated network aims to deliver improved service reliability by means of an optimized global structure ... the refined network is designed to strengthen overall operational stability whilst preserving the company’s broad international reach,” HMM said.