The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) and A.P. Moller-Maersk (Maersk) have announced that Maersk vessels will begin returning to transit the Suez Canal from early December.
The move marks a major milestone for the SCA, which has long sought to restore container traffic that had been diverted around South Africa for nearly two years.
Maersk confirmed that transits will resume “as soon as conditions allow, with safety of our crew as the top priority,” though no firm date has been set.
In 2023, Maersk made 1,158 transits carrying a total of 127 million tonnes of cargo. The resumption of traffic is critical for Egypt, where canal revenues remain a key source of national income.
Alongside transits, the SCA said it is exploring expanded cooperation with Maersk in ship scrapping, container manufacturing and repair, shipyard development, and logistics services.
Maersk has also committed to significant investments in Egypt’s port infrastructure, including the expansion of its terminal operations, reinforcing the long-term partnership between the carrier and the Suez Canal.
Recently, Maersk celebrated the opening of its flagship logistics centre in Shanghai’s Lin-gang area, marking one of the company’s largest global warehousing investments.