Giant container ships make gradual comeback to the Suez Canal
November 11 , 2025
The Suez Canal, one of the world's most crucial trade passages, is gradually opening up again to giant container ships.
The announcement was made by Admiral Ossama Rabiee, Chairman and Managing Director of the Suez Canal Authority, after the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin successfully navigated the canal as part of the North Convoy, which was en route from the United Kingdom and was calling at Malaysia.
Stability is back at the Suez Canal
The giant container ship, affiliated with the French shipping line CMA CGM, is over 1,300 feet long, with a beam of 177 feet, and a draft of over 42 feet. It can carry 17,859 containers (177,000 tons), making it the largest container ship to transit through the Canal in two years.
This voyage marks the first transit of the giant container ship through the passage and Bab el-Mandeb Strait since its last transit on October 22, 2023, due to regional tensions.
Passage reactivation
The passage, stated the Suez Canal Authority in a press release, was made possible due to positive indicators in the Red Sea, mainly the restoration of stability to the region.
Additionally, Admiral Rabiee said that the overall return of medium and large vessels is the direct result of the incentives and flexible marketing policies implemented since last May.
The Authority reported the successful restoration of 28 voyages of medium-sized container ships toward Asia, with an average tonnage ranging from 130,000 to 160,000 tons.
The executive emphasized that this latest development sends a reassuring message to all shipping lines regarding the restoration of stability to the region.
This necessitates a review of container ship schedules, he said, and the initiation of trial voyages for transits through the Red Sea.
*All images courtesy of the Suez Canal Authority
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