The recent Gaza peace summit has led to renewed shipping confidence, local authorities have said
Traffic through Egypt’s Suez Canal has surged by more than 10% in recent months amid improving regional stability, local authorities said on Tuesday.
Admiral Ossama Rabiee, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), announced that between July and October, a total of 4,405 vessels passed through the canal, carrying 185 million tons of cargo – up from 4,332 ships and 167.6 million tons in the same period last year.
He said 229 vessels resumed transit in October alone, marking the highest monthly figure since the Red Sea crisis began following the onset of the war in Gaza.
“The Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit had a positive impact on calming the situation in the region and the return of many ships to cross the Suez Canal again,” the Egyptian Cabinet Presidency reported on Facebook.
Rabie also attributed the recovery to growing confidence among shipping companies following the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit in mid-October, where the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal was signed. The summit was attended by leaders including US President Donald Trump, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
The admiral also praised French carrier CMA CGM for resuming operations through the canal with two ultra-large container ships, each carrying over 170,000 tons of cargo. He encouraged other global operators to conduct trial voyages.
The renewed optimism follows President Sisi’s disclosure that the Suez Canal has lost an estimated $9 billion over the past two years due to instability in the Red Sea. Monthly losses, he said, had peaked at around $800 million earlier this year.
The Suez Canal, which handles roughly 12% of global trade and connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, was hit hard by rerouted traffic and security concerns after the crisis erupted in late 2023, when Yemen-based Houthi rebels began attacking commercial vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb strait and the Red Sea in response to the Israel-Hamas war.
