News
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) and A.P. Moller-Maersk have announced in a joint press release the commencement of the return of vessels affiliated to the Danish carrier to transiting through the Suez Canal as of early next December.
The resumption of transits by major container carriers after nearly two years of diversions around South Africa is a major goal of the SCA, which said Maersk’s return would come in December, while the carrier later reiterated that it will proceed “as soon as conditions allow, with safety of our crew as the top priority.” It said given the progress, it would take steps to resume the routes, but that no firm date had yet been established.
In 2023, Maersk made 1,158 transits with a total net cargo of 127 million tons. Restoring the trade is critical to Egypt as it is a key source of revenue for the country. In addition to Maersk’s resumption of transits, it noted that it is exploring new areas of cooperation, including ship scrapping, container manufacturing and repair, shipyard development and logistics services.
Maersk has committed to large investments in the port operations in Egypt with the expansion of its terminal operations.
