CMA CGM Returns to Suez as Major Vessel Transits Jump to 166 Trips
CMA CGM expands its services through the Suez Canal as a permanent route, with container ship transits exceeding 130,000 tons rising to 166 trips in the third quarter compared to 16 a year earlier.
CMA CGM continued to expand its services through the Suez Canal, describing the route as a "permanent and sustainable path," as reported by Shipping Telegraph.
The number of transits by container ships exceeding 130,000 tons reached 166 trips in the third quarter of 2026, compared to 16 trips a year earlier, with a net tonnage reaching 29 million tons compared to 2.4 million tons.
The vessel CMA CGM Pantheon made its maiden transit on Tuesday on a northbound voyage from Morocco toward Malaysia, with a net tonnage of 221,000 tons.
Admiral Osama Rabie, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, stated that the waterway "holds strategic importance for containerized trade," while Christine Cabau Woehrel of CMA CGM expressed the company's commitment to its partnership with the Authority.
What do these terms mean?
Net Tonnage: A measure of a vessel's usable space volume, used to estimate its commercial capacity rather than its actual weight.
Container Ship: A ship designed to transport cargo inside standardized metal containers, which can be transferred between ships, trains, and trucks.
Suez Canal Authority: The body that manages the navigation channel, regulates ship transits, and sets toll fees.
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