The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has announced a 15% reduction in transit fees for container ships of 130,000 GT or more, aiming to recover traffic lost during the Red Sea crisis due to attacks by Houthi militias on merchant vessels and the early signs of calm in the region.
Starting on May 15, 2025, container ships—whether loaded or in ballast—having a gross tonnage of 130,000 tons or more will automatically receive this discount when transiting the canal in either direction. The discount will be valid for 90 days and will be applied without requiring shipping companies to submit special requests or additional documentation.
This initiative is part of a broader strategy by the SCA to recover the lost traffic volumes during the months when major shipping companies, particularly container ship operators, opted to reroute their vessels around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid potential attacks by Houthi rebels.
The crisis severely impacted the canal’s revenue: in the fourth quarter of 2024, revenues dropped to $880.9 million, compared to $2.4 billion in the same period the previous year. For the entire year, the decline was approximately 60%, falling from the record $10.3 billion in 2023 to less than $4 billion in 2024.
SCA President Osama Rabie emphasized that the reduction responds to customer demands and aims to encourage major operators to resume using the canal. “This measure responds to the requests of many clients, including shipowners and container operators, in an effort to encourage major shipping lines to return to transiting through the Suez Canal,” Rabie said during a meeting with the Italian Ambassador in Cairo.
In recent months, the SCA has stepped up negotiations with major shipping companies, including CMA CGM and Maersk, to encourage container ships to return to the Canal.
CMA CGM’s Executive Vice President of Assets and Operations, Christine Cabau, expressed the Swiss carrier’s interest in resuming use of the route, “since it is the shortest and fastest route compared to the alternative of the Cape of Good Hope.” However, the company has not provided specific dates for its return.
Maersk, on the other hand, has taken a cautious stance and confirmed that it is not yet ready to resume transits through the Red Sea, despite the announcement of a ceasefire between the U.S. and the Houthis. A senior executive at the company, Vincent Clerc, highlighted the complexity and cost of redeploying fleets, warning that the decision “cannot be based solely on ceasefire announcements of which we do not know the details, the stability of which remains unclear, and which has broken down before.”
This 15% reduction comes after nearly seven months without attacks in the Red Sea and the announcement of a ceasefire by the Houthis. However, industry experts like Jakob Larsen from BIMCO caution that it is unclear whether the reduction will be enough to convince all shipping companies, as each operator—and the crews of their ships—has its own level of risk tolerance.