French Navy Shoots Down Drone Near CMA CGM Ship In Bab el-Mandeb Strait

A French Navy frigate shot down a drone while escorting a CMA CGM container ship through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on the night of October 1-2.

The French frigate Languedoc used its gun to destroy the drone after judging it to be a threat, the French Armed Forces General Staff told Le Monde, which reported the incident on October 15.

The container ship CMA CGM Champs Elysees changed course and speed during the incident. The drone was believed to be carrying cameras for surveillance. It flew over a group of merchant ships, including the CMA CGM vessel and at least one MSC container ship.

The CMA CGM Champs Elysees was travelling from Singapore to Northern Europe. The company’s schedule showed that it left Singapore on September 20, passed through the Suez Canal on October 3 and was due to arrive at Le Havre, France, on October 16.

The CFDT union said CMA CGM management reported more seafarers refusing to make the passage after the drone incident.

The increase was discussed at a company health, safety and working conditions committee meeting on October 7, according to the union.

Delphine de Franco, a CFDT representative for CMA CGM officers, said more seafarers were unwilling to sail through the area. The union has urged the company to use alternative routes when possible.

CMA CGM said every transit takes place with the agreement of the crew members concerned. The company also said it stays in contact with French authorities and holds daily discussions with crews and unions.

Crew concerns have also followed an earlier incident involving the CMA CGM San Antonio. A projectile struck the ship in the Strait of Hormuz on May 5, injuring eight crew members, according to the source material.

The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have been classified as a war zone by the International Bargaining Forum since March 2024. The classification gives eligible seafarers the right to extra pay and to refuse to sail through the area.

CMA CGM pays a €1,500 war bonus to seafarers who agree to make the Red Sea transit, according to the reports.

The French Navy has been escorting merchant ships through the Red Sea amid attacks on commercial shipping by Yemen’s Houthi movement. The operator of the drone involved in the October incident has not been identified in the information provided.

Tensions continue to rise involving the Houthis and Saudi Arabia. On September 24, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would send defensive military support to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, to help protect its port and oil terminal.

The Houthis had said their recent campaign was aimed at ships linked to Saudi interests. CMA CGM has invested in Saudi ports, including Jeddah, but the company has no Saudi-registered vessels in its fleet, according to the source material.

The European Union’s Aspides naval mission, launched in 2024 to help protect ships from Houthi attacks, raised its alert level in September.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on October 8 that more ships needed escorts. The mission aims to have 10 vessels but had only two or three warships available, according to the source material.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations recorded one reported but unconfirmed attack near Bab el-Mandeb in the first week of October and six incidents since the start of 2026.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait connects the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea and provides access to the Suez Canal, a major shipping route between Asia and Europe.

Before disruptions began in 2023, the Suez Canal handled about 30% of global container ship traffic. Ships can avoid the Red Sea by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, but that route adds at least 10 days to a voyage and increases fuel use and operating costs.

Shipping companies have gradually increased their use of the Suez Canal again despite continuing security concerns.

The Suez Canal Authority reported that tonnage passing through the canal rose by 54.2% in the first eight months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.

CMA CGM has continued using the Red Sea route, with support from French naval escorts and the EU’s Aspides mission. By late August, 199 ships affiliated with the company had passed through the Suez Canal, carrying a combined net tonnage of 5.2 million tonnes, according to the canal authority.

For the whole of 2025, 212 CMA CGM-affiliated ships carrying 18.8 million tonnes transited the canal.

The CMA CGM Champs Elysees is a 400-metre-long, liquefied natural gas-powered container ship with a capacity of 23,112 TEU, or twenty-foot equivalent units.

Reference: Le Monde