Suez Canal sees transit of 1st giant container ship in 2 years
Updated 11/9/2025 8:08:00 AM
Arab Finance: The Suez Canal witnessed the transit of the container ship CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin as part of the north convoy, coming from the UK and heading to Malaysia, according to a press release.
The voyage marks the first transit of the giant container ship through the canal and Bab el-Mandeb Strait since its last transit in October 2023, due to regional tensions.
Affiliated to the French shipping line CMA CGM, the giant container ship is 399 meters in length, with a beam of 54 meters, and a draft of 13.5 meters.
It can carry 17,859 containers, with a net tonnage of 177,000 tons, making it the largest container ship to transit through the Canal in two years.
Ossama Rabiee, Chairman and Managing Director of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), noted that the return of giant container ships to transit through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal was due to the incentives and flexible marketing policies implemented by the authority since last May.
These measures have successfully restored 28 voyages of medium-sized container ships, with average tonnage ranging from 130,000 to 160,000 tons, to transit through the Suez Canal on their voyages from Europe to Asia.
These include 19 voyages by CMA CGM and nine voyages by MSC, reflecting the commitment of major shipping lines to using the Suez Canal.
It is noteworthy that the Suez Canal traffic statistics for October recorded the return of 229 vessels, marking the highest monthly rate of returning vessels since the beginning of the Red Sea crisis.
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