Maersk Returns to Suez Canal: SCA Partnership and Discounts for Containerships in 2025

Danish shipping company Maersk is considering a return to the Suez Canal but has not set a specific date. “Maersk will take steps to resume navigation along the East-West corridor via the Suez Canal and the Red Sea and over time normalize the transits on this route,” the company stated. “This will proceed as soon as conditions allow, with safety of our crew as the top priority.”

Suez traffic has drastically shrunk since the Yemen-based Houthi militant group’s attacks began in November 2023, with shipowners often opting for the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope, which increases voyage times and bunker fuel consumption.

Today, Maersk signed a partnership agreement with the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), which suggested the shipowner’s return could start as early as December. However, Maersk told Argus it has not finalized a timeline.

The SCA announced today it has been in discussions with various shipowners, and container shipowner CMA CGM will return to the canal. The French company has not committed to a timeline, but its vessel Benjamin Franklin transited the canal and Bab el-Mandeb Strait in early November, marking one of the first passages by a large containership owner since the Houthi attacks intensified. CMA CGM’s Jules Verne has also passed through the canal in recent weeks.

To encourage a return to general passage by key shipowners, the SCA has implemented a package of flexible pricing policies, including a 15 % reduction for container ships exceeding 130 000 tons.