Suez container tonnage up 54.2% in eight months as MSC returns

Market Context & Direct Impact

Container ship net tonnage through the Suez Canal reached 72.1 million tons in January–August 2026, up 54.2%. The Suez Canal Authority put the comparison against 46.7 million tons in the same period of 2025, as reported by gCaptain. The authority said services run by CMA CGM, Maersk, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd and COSCO have all returned to the canal to varying degrees. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd then moved four more Gemini services, AE5, AE11, AE12 and ME2, back to Suez, joining AE15 and AE19 already transiting.

MSC's return is selective, and Gulf-side risk has not gone away. MSC began restoring Suez transits on a limited number of East-West services in late August, according to The Loadstar's report. Maritime Executive's 4 October coverage confirms the change is applied service by service, with contingency arrangements that let individual voyages be adjusted. Industry consultant Lars Jensen said the pace might mean normalisation by end-2026, while noting a few services could still go around Africa to absorb excess capacity. Freightos flagged that Houthis seized a strategic port directly on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a risk that sits on the same corridor. On the Saudi side, the East-West crude pipeline carried 5.8 million barrels a day as of 6 October, according to the energy minister, who said the kingdom may reach 10 million within two to three years.

Core Executive Takeaways

• Suez volumes climbingContainer ship net tonnage through Suez rose 54.2% in January–August 2026, a signal that capacity is returning to the corridor.
• Return stays partialCarriers are restoring routings service by service, so a booked Suez transit can still change voyage by voyage.
• Bab el-Mandeb still exposedA Houthi grip on the strait keeps Red Sea routings a contract-and-insurance question, not a settled one.

Strategic Playbook

1. 1
   Map Suez exposure by sailing

   Ask each carrier on your Asia–Europe and Asia–Mediterranean lanes which sailings transit Suez and which default to the Cape, and rebook any Cape-routed cargo against the current schedule.

2. 2
   Write routing clauses now

   Add routing-change and surcharge terms to upcoming contracts before Suez capacity returns in volume, and keep a Cape-routed buffer in your transit-time plan.

Filed 02:38 GMT, 13 October 2026, for the first edition of 13 Oct.
As agents only.

Sources

1. Container Shipping Returns to Suez Despite Rising Red Sea RisksgCaptain, published 16 September 2026
2. MSC Follows Other Container Carriers in Return to Suez Canal and Red SeaMaritime Executive, published 4 October 2026
3. Saudi Eyes 10 Million Barrels a Day of Oil Pipe CapacitygCaptain, published 12 October 2026
4. MSC schedules more east-west liner services for Suez Canal transitThe Loadstar, published 25 August 2026
5. Saudi Arabia restarts East-West oil pipeline, sources sayReuters, published 22 September 2026
6. Houthi gains deepen risk as carriers restore Red Sea servicesFreightWaves, published 15 September 2026

Claims ledger: 10 facts and where each comes from

• Suez Canal Authority: container ship net tonnage through the canal reached 72.1 million tons in the first eight months of 2026, up 54.2% from 46.7 million tons in the same period of 2025.¹
• The Suez Canal Authority says CMA CGM, Maersk, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd and COSCO services have all returned to the canal to varying degrees.¹
• Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd announced that Gemini services AE5, AE11, AE12 and ME2 will shift from the Cape of Good Hope back to Suez, joining AE15 and AE19 already operating through the canal.¹
• MSC has begun a limited restoration of Suez Canal transits on selected East-West services, with contingency arrangements allowing individual voyages to be adjusted.⁴
• Maritime Executive reported on 4 October 2026 that MSC confirmed a partial return to Suez Canal transits on East-West services, applied service by service, with contingency arrangements allowing voyages to be adjusted.²
• Industry consultant Lars Jensen said that at the pace of MSC's moves it might be reasonable to see a normalisation by end-2026, and that some services may still go around Africa to absorb excess capacity.⁴
• The Iran-backed Houthis recently seized a strategic port and island directly on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to Freightos, reported by FreightWaves on 15 September 2026.⁶
• The East-West pipeline was carrying 5.8 million barrels a day as of 6 October, the Saudi energy minister said.³
• The Saudi energy minister said the kingdom may end up with 10 million barrels a day within the next two to three years.³
• Drone attacks forced Saudi Arabia to shut its East-West Pipeline on 13 September, halting crude loadings at Yanbu port, per Reuters sources; operations were then restarted.⁵

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