Suez Canal Tries to Woo Back Ships Announcing Discount for Large Boxships

The Suez Canal Authority is intensifying its marketing efforts to woo back the world’s ships to the shipping route. In a concerted marketing effort, the authority is highlighting opportunities and adding financial incentives after a disastrous year in 2024.

The canal is a major source of foreign currency and income for Egypt. The country’s central bank recently reported that revenues from the canal in the fourth quarter were a fraction of the year earlier. It said the canal provided just over $880 million in fourth quarter revenues versus $2.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024. For all of 2024, the canal provided only about $4 billion, down by nearly two-thirds from the record $10.3 billion in 2023.

Speaking last week to a meeting of representatives of 25 major shipping lines and agencies, Lieutenant General Osama Rabie, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, said, “We call on all shipping lines to seriously consider evaluating their sailing schedules and consider the possibility of gradually resuming the passage of some of their vessels through the region.”

The Suez Canal Authority is calling the developments in the security situation in the Red Sea “a good sign and a positive indicator that can be built upon to restore navigation in the region.” It said that it has begun efforts to communicate with its clients, including major shipping lines, ship owners, and shipping agencies, to discuss the impact of the positive developments in the security situation in the Red Sea region and its impact on the freedom of navigation.

Lieutenant General Rabie highlighted the Authority's ongoing efforts to keep pace with the rapid changes in the maritime transport industry and to flexibly address current challenges in the Red Sea region in the best possible way. During a TV interview, he mentioned the consideration for financial incentives, and hours later confirmed the Suez Canal Authority was moving forward with the proposal approved by Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The Suez Canal Authority is offering incentives and discounts of 15 percent of the transit fees for containerships with a net tonnage of 130,000 tons and above. The offer begins on Thursday, May 15, and ships can take advantage of it transiting either laden or empty. The authority reports the offer will last for 90 days.

Speaking with the shipping companies, the authority emphasized that ships have begun to return to the canal route. It said that in March 166 vessels had made the transit. It remains, however, far below the canal’s peak when it regularly handled more than 60 ships a day and set a record of 89 ships in a day in August 2022.

Among the major carriers, CMA CGM ranked first in terms of net tonnage transiting the canal during the first four months of 2025. The Suez Canal Authority said it represented 19 percent of the total tonnage of containerships transiting the canal during the period, while CMA CGM’s representative said the carrier looked forward to increasing its use of the Suez Canal. The company said about a quarter of its ships transited the canal in 2024.

Many carriers, however, have continued to take a wait-and-see attitude toward a return to Suez routes. Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc last week, during the earnings report, projected the disruptions would continue for most of the year and said it would be “irresponsible” to rush back on to Suez routes. In addition to safety concerns, he cited the difficulties in adjusting the operations to the routes.

The Suez Canal Authority, however, is telling the industry it is ready and working to consolidate efforts and unite endeavors to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.