The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) is cautiously optimistic about a gradual return to more normal traffic levels after three CMA CGM megacontainerships transited the canal within a single week.
This development comes shortly after the UN Security Council voted by a large majority to extend sanctions on Yemen’s Houthi movement, whose attacks on merchant ships had previously forced many operators to divert away from the Red Sea. Despite the ongoing security concerns, SCA now reports signs of improvement, as large container vessels again choose the Suez route.
First Suez transit for CMA CGM Helium
On 15 November, the Suez Canal marked a new milestone when CMA CGM’s newly delivered containership Helium completed its first transit of the waterway.
The 335-meter-long vessel, with a gross tonnage of around 130,000, was handed over to CMA CGM last month by South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Samho. Helium is part of a new series of 12 container vessels equipped with dual-fuel engines capable of running on methanol, reflecting CMA CGM’s strategy to reduce emissions.
The ship transited northbound in a convoy, sailing from Singapore with a call at Egypt’s port of Alexandria.
Jules Verne resumes Suez Canal calls
Another CMA CGM vessel, the Jules Verne, has also recently passed through the canal as part of a northbound convoy from Singapore to Lebanon, safely crossing the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
This voyage marked the first south-to-north transit via Bab el-Mandeb and the third passage through the canal for the 396-meter ship, which has a gross tonnage of 176,000 and was built in 2013.
SCA highlights that Jules Verne has resumed Suez transits after two southbound passages earlier this year in June and September. The decision to return to the route has been partly influenced by incentive measures introduced by the canal authority in mid-2024.
Incentives to bring back megacontainerships
In June, SCA launched a package of incentives designed to restore traffic volumes. Under this scheme, container vessels with a net tonnage above 130,000 tons are eligible for a 15% reduction in canal tolls.
The aim is to encourage major carriers to resume using the Suez Canal despite heightened geopolitical risks and rising operating costs, and to maintain the canal’s competitiveness against alternative routes around the Cape of Good Hope.
Benjamin Franklin: largest CMA CGM vessel in two years
The transits of Helium and Jules Verne came just a week after another CMA CGM giant, the Benjamin Franklin, passed through the canal.
At 399 meters in length, 177,000 tons displacement and a capacity of 17,859 TEU, Benjamin Franklin became the largest containership to transit the Suez Canal in the past two years. The vessel sailed northbound from the United Kingdom to Malaysia and also safely crossed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
New planning challenges for shipping lines
According to SCA Chairman Admiral Osama Rabie, the relative de-escalation in the Red Sea region presents a new challenge for the shipping community:
shipping companies now need to reassess their schedules and consider reinstating routes via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal. Before the Houthi attacks, the canal was one of the busiest waterways in the world, handling around 12% of global trade flows.
Revenue outlook and the role of sanctions
SCA expects that the gradual recovery in transit volumes will translate into higher revenue. The authority forecasts USD 4.2 billion in revenue for 2025, compared with USD 3.9 billion last year. For reference, in 2023 the canal recorded a historic all-time high of USD 10.2 billion in annual income.
The ability to sustain this recovery will depend heavily on continued stability in the Red Sea. As part of efforts to maintain pressure on the Houthis, the UN Security Council has extended sanctions on the group for another year, until 14 November 2026. The resolution was adopted with 13 votes in favour, while Russia and China abstained.
SCA hopes that a combination of improved security, sustained sanctions pressure and targeted economic incentives will fully restore the Suez Canal’s position as a critical artery of global trade.
