The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) is actively engaging with the shipping industry following a notable increase in vessel traffic. A total of 229 ships returned to transit through the Suez Canal during October, the highest monthly rate of returning vessels since the beginning of the crisis.
Suez Canal Authority chairman Ossama Rabiee recently convened a meeting with representatives from 20 major shipping lines and agencies to discuss the developments in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb region and their impact on global trade transiting through the Canal and the maritime transport market.
Ossama Rabiee urged shipping agencies to reassure shipping lines and encourage them to resume transiting through the Suez Canal. He commended the proactive step taken by the French shipping line CMA CGM in resuming transit of two of its giant container ships, each with a cargo capacity exceeding 170,000 tons.
He pointed out that Suez Canal traffic statistics over the past few months have shown a relative improvement in the number and tonnage of transiting vessels compared to the same period last year.
Canal traffic statistics from July to October 2025 recorded the transit of 4,405 vessels with a total tonnage of 185 million tons, compared to 4,332 vessels with a total tonnage of 167.6 million tons during the same period last year.
The chairman of the authority noted that Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit had a positive impact on the calming of tensions in the region and the return of many vessels to transit through the Canal.
During the meeting, Rabiee highlighted recent safety improvements, including the completion of the Southern Sector Development Project and the deepening of the 17-kilometer western branch of Port Said.
Representatives from major shipping lines and agencies, including Maersk, CMA CGM, MSC, COSCO, Wilhelmsen, HAPAG-LLOYD and others, expressed optimism about the Canal’s performance.
The Suez Canal Authority chairman concluded the meeting by emphasizing the immediate review of all submitted proposals and inviting “all shipping lines to conduct trial voyages of their container ships through the Suez Canal.”
