Suez Canal now inspects ships aged 25+ years before transit

Market Context & Direct Impact

Ships aged 25 years or older now need a full inspection and trials before the Suez Canal Authority clears them to transit. Splash247 describes the rules as already in effect, with all applicable fees payable up front. Shipowners and agents must build the checks into voyage planning, most of all on irregular schedules. The Authority has not published inspection fees or how long the process takes, so voyage budgets cannot yet carry a firm figure.

A vessel inspected recently can skip the repeat. A ship returning within six months of its last inspection is exempt from repeating the procedure, provided no defects, breakdowns or adverse technical observations were recorded. The timing coincides with a record ageing fleet: Clarksons Research, as relayed by Splash247, puts shipping aged 25 years or older above 150m gt, up 75% in five years, and a record 68m gt past 30 years. Splash247 does not name the circular that carries the rule. The Suez Canal Authority's circulars page lists a 28 September periodical amending Article 92 of its Rules of Navigation, but the listing does not say whether it covers this check, so the legal text should be requested directly.

Core Executive Takeaways

• Older tonnage faces delayOperators of ships aged 25 years or older should allow extra inspection time before any Suez transit.
• Fees still unpricedNo inspection fee or duration has been published, so the cost exposure cannot yet be quantified.
• Six-month exemption windowA clean inspection within the previous six months avoids a repeat, which makes inspection dates a booking variable.

Strategic Playbook

1. 1
   Screen vessel ages

   Ask carriers, charterers and 3PL partners for build years on every Suez-routed ship, and flag any vessel at 25 years or older before booking.

2. 2
   Get the circular

   Request the circular number, fee schedule and inspection timetable from the Suez Canal Authority or your agent, and hold a delay buffer until they arrive.

Filed 09:26 GMT, 17 October 2026, for the first edition of 17 Oct.
As agents only.

Sources

1. Suez tightens transit rules for ageing shipsSplash247, published 15 October 2026
2. SCA - Navigation CircularsSuez Canal Authority, published 28 September 2026

Claims ledger: 7 facts and where each comes from

• Vessels of 25 years or more now face compulsory checks and trials before the Suez Canal Authority grants transit permission, according to Splash247.¹
• Splash247 describes the new regulations as already effective, with all applicable fees payable in advance before transit permission is secured.¹
• Shipping agents received the Authority's Movement Department instructions in the same week the report appeared; a vessel returning within six months of its last inspection is exempt from repeating the procedure if no defects, breakdowns or adverse technical observations were recorded.¹
• The Authority has not published inspection fees or the length of the inspection process.¹
• Splash247 expects shipowners and agents to fold the additional checks into voyage planning, particularly for vessels on irregular schedules.¹
• Clarksons Research, as relayed by Splash247, reports more than 150m gt of shipping aged 25 years or older, up 75% in five years, with a record 68m gt past 30 years.¹
• The Suez Canal Authority's navigation circulars page lists Periodical No. (29/2026), dated 28/09/2026, amending item (3) of paragraph (F) of Article 92 of the Suez Canal Rules of Navigation (December 2020 edition); the page does not state that this circular covers the ageing-ship inspections.²

Every figure above is tied to a cited source that was checked on the day of filing. Found an error? Tell the desk.