Suez Canal hails mega vessel return as CMA CGM Osiris transits the canal
Thursday, June 19, 2025
After months of disruption, the Suez Canal is back in business for the world’s largest container ships. On Wednesday, 15,536 TEU CMA CGM Osiris became the first mega vessel to transit the waterway since last year and use the new 15% rebate.
A large container ship operated by CMA CGM transited the Suez Canal on Wednesday, becoming the first mega vessel to pass through the waterway from the Bab al-Mandeb Strait since March 2024, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said.
The CMA CGM Osiris, with a capacity of 15,536 TEU and gross tonnage of 154,000 tonnes, joined the south-to-north convoy en route from Singapore to the Port of Alexandria. Its passage follows the introduction of a 15% toll discount by SCA for container vessels exceeding 130,000 net tonnes, part of a three-month incentive scheme aimed at enticing large containerships to return to the waterway, following improvements in the security situation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The rebate applies to both laden and ballast container ships with a Suez Canal Net Tonnage (SCNT) of 130,000 tonnes or more.
SCA noted that CMA CGM Osiris is the first large container ship to transit from Bab al-Mandeb and benefit from the newly introduced discount. Admiral Ossama Rabiee, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, said the transit marks the beginning of a new phase in the restoration of mega container ship traffic through the Suez Canal following the Red Sea crisis. Specifically, since October 2023, attacks on commercial vessels by Houthi forces in the Red Sea have forced many carriers to reroute ships around the Cape of Good Hope, severely disrupting container traffic through the Suez Canal.
According to Alphaliner, between January and April, just 647 container ships transited the Suez Canal in both directions, a fraction of pre-crisis levels when monthly crossings alone topped 550. Sub-Panamax ships under 4,000 TEU made up over 70% of transits, which is well above their usual 10–15% share, while no ultra-large container ships (18,000+ TEU) passed through the canal in over a year. Traffic for mid-sized vessels also remains significantly below already weakened 2024 volumes. In May 2025, monthly Sub-Panamax transits fell below 100 for the first time since July 2024.
SCA Chairman Admiral Ossama Rabiee said the authority is in talks with major carriers and will continue to offer flexible pricing to retain competitiveness. He added that CMA CGM had agreed to resume transits of several of its large vessels through the canal.
CMA CGM led all shipping lines in terms of vessel count and tonnage transiting the canal in the first half of 2025, the SCA said. Two of its medium-sized vessels, CMA CGM Aquila and CMA CGM Callisto, also transited the canal on Tuesday.