TRIESTE – Data for the first half of the 2025/26 financial year point to a tangible recovery in traffic through the Suez Canal and pave the way for the gradual return of the main shipping companies, which are assessing trial transits after the most critical phase of the Red Sea crisis.
According to what was reported by the Suez Canal Authority, in the first six months of the current financial year the number of transiting vessels increased by 5.8% compared with the same period in 2024/25. The rise in net tonnage was even stronger, up 16%, with a direct impact on revenues, which grew by 18.5%. The improvement is attributed to the gradual stabilisation of the Red Sea area and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, after months of heightened geopolitical tensions.
At the same time, the market is beginning to move. Several major shipping lines are considering a return to the Canal through trial transits, seen as a necessary step before a broader restoration of regular services. Some operators have already reactivated individual connections, while others are revising their planning for the coming months.
During a meeting with shipowners and shipping agencies, Suez Canal Authority Chairman Admiral Ossama Rabiee underlined that current indicators are encouraging and are creating the conditions for a gradual return of carriers. The improving traffic statistics are being read as a first sign of renewed market confidence, pending further developments in 2026.
Among the operators present, a shared assessment emerged: the return of vessels to the Canal will be gradual, but it is now under way.
