The Suez Canal has officially begun welcoming mega container vessels once again, marking a turning point after months of reduced traffic due to regional instability.

On Wednesday, the French-operated container ship CMA CGM OSIRIS became the first large vessel to transit the canal via the Bab al-Mandeb Strait since March 2024.

The 154,000-ton vessel, which departed from Singapore and is en route to the Port of Alexandria, passed through the Canal’s newer navigation channel. Its transit follows the Suez Canal Authority’s (SCA) recent introduction of a 15% discount for container ships exceeding 130,000 net tons, an initiative aimed at restoring high-capacity traffic through the route.

According to the SCA, OSIRIS is the first vessel to benefit from the new pricing scheme, which was announced under Circular No. 3/2025 and remains in effect for three months. The 366-meter-long vessel can carry up to 15,536 TEUs and is part of a broader agreement with French shipping company CMA CGM.

In addition to OSIRIS, two other CMA CGM vessels - AQUILA and CALLISTO, each at 128,000 tons - transited the Canal on Tuesday as part of the line’s ongoing medium-tonnage operations.

The Suez Canal Authority stated it will continue pursuing flexible pricing strategies and outreach efforts to encourage the return of more large vessels. CMA CGM remains the leading shipping line through the Canal in terms of both vessel count and total tonnage for the first half of 2025.