The Suez Canal has recorded the transit of the mega container ship CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE for the first time in two years, marking the full-capacity return of vessels operated by the CMA CGM Group.
The LNG-powered vessel transited the canal on 23 December as part of the southbound convoy, sailing from Morocco to Malaysia. At the same time, the container ship CMA CGM ADONIS, carrying 154,000 tonnes of cargo, passed northbound.
CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE is one of the largest container ships in the world. It measures 400 metres in length and 62 metres in beam, with a net tonnage of 231,000 tonnes. The vessel has a capacity of up to 23,000 TEUs and is the largest container ship to transit the canal in the past two years.
Suez Canal Authority chairman and managing director Admiral Ossama Rabiee said the transit marks a new phase in the return of major container shipping lines to the canal. He said the development reflects the authority’s intensive marketing efforts over recent months.
Rabiee said CMA CGM’s decision to resume full-capacity transits follows these efforts, while Maersk has also begun a gradual return to the canal.
He added that the return of major carriers is expected to positively influence the global maritime transport market. Rabiee urged other shipping lines to resume Red Sea and Bab el-Mandab routes via the Suez Canal.
The authority expects canal traffic to improve gradually next year, with volumes returning to normal levels in the second half of the year.
