Big containerships flood back into Suez as CMA CGM restores services

The Suez Canal is witnessing a resurgence in container ship transits, signalling a recovery in international shipping routes.

Large container-vessel transits jumped in the third quarter, signalling renewed use of the waterway as the French liner CMA CGM expands its return to the Suez route.

In the third quarter of 2026, transits by medium-sized and large containerships surged to 166, according to the Suez Canal Authority.

A total of 166 containerships from these categories above 130,000 tons transited the canal between July and September, compared with just 16 in the same period of 2025.

Tonnage figures showed an equally large increase. The total reached 29 million net tons during the most recent quarter. That compared to just a total of 2.4 million net tons during the same period a year ago.

“The Suez Canal holds a strategic significance for containerized trade due to the operational savings it achieves and its promotion of the concept of economies of scale,” said SCA chairman admiral Ossama Rabiee.

The figures were announced on Tuesday during talks between SCA chairman Rabiee, CMA CGM executive vice president for assets and operations, Christine Cabau Woehrel, and the group’s Egypt and Sudan Cluster CEO, Tariq Zaghloul.

The discussions focused on strengthening cooperation and encouraging international shipping lines to resume full use of the canal.

Rabiee said the Suez Canal remained strategically important to container shipping, offering savings in transit times and distances while supporting economies of scale for container vessels.

He added that the canal could accommodate 100 per cent of the global container ship fleet.

He noted the mounting pressure on container lines, citing increasing fuel prices, while shippers have to contend with rising freight rates. He highlighted the Suez Canal for its ability to provide reduced transit times and shorter voyage distances.

For her part, Christine Cabau expressed CMA CGM’s commitment to its longstanding strategic partnership with the SCA and said the group is continuing to restore its services through the canal as a permanent and sustainable route, expressing in parallel the group’s desire to further strengthen future cooperation.

On Tuesday, the canal also received the giant container ship CMA CGM Pantheon on its maiden voyage through the waterway.

The vessel transited in the northbound convoy after sailing from Morocco en route to Malaysia, with a net tonnage of 221,000 tons.