The Suez Canal Authority has withdrawn its 15% transit fee discount for large containerships from 7 April 2026, ending the measure ahead of its previous 30 June expiry.
The rebate was introduced on 13 May 2025 after Houthi attacks in the Red Sea pushed carriers to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope. The measure was later renewed twice, but usage remained limited. During mid-2025, about 10 containerships above 130,000 Suez Canal Net Tonnage used the canal each month, and nine of those vessels were operated by CMA CGM with French Navy escorts.
The source said the rebate was worth at least $70,000 per qualifying transit. It was removed as major container operators on east-west trades continued to suspend or pause Suez passages.
According to the source, regional shipping conditions worsened again in late February 2026 after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran led to retaliation that effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz. The source also said more than 800 freighters remained inside the Gulf this week despite a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire announced overnight.
Among major container lines, CMA CGM suspended Suez transits on 25 March. Hapag-Lloyd halted Hormuz passages on 4 March, while Maersk paused future sailings through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until further notice. The source further said Tehran had signaled through a senior adviser that allied groups could shut the Bab el-Mandeb entirely.
The canal authority said 56 vessels were still transiting the waterway each day in early April. In the first weeks of 2026, canal revenue reached $449 million from 1,315 transits, up 18.5% from the same period in 2025. Full-year revenue fell about 60% to $4 billion in 2024 from a record $10.3 billion in 2023.
The source said Chairman Osama Rabiee told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in January that canal revenue was expected to improve in the second half of 2026.
The near-term direction of canal traffic now depends on whether the U.S.-Iran ceasefire holds. The source said the 8 April 2026 to 10 April 2026 period is critical. If daily Hormuz transits increase without incident, major operators are expected to begin formal risk reviews, with leading carriers likely to make routing decisions between 11 April 2026 and 14 April 2026.
Even if conditions improve, the source said stranded cargoes will take weeks to clear and that global trade flows will need months to move closer to pre-crisis patterns.
