The transit is the third Maersk vessel to cross the canal since the SCA signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement with the Danish group last November, which officials described as an early sign of shipping lines returning to the waterway amid ongoing marketing incentives.
The 350-metre-long mega vessel, operated by Maersk, has a beam of 54 metres, a draft of 14.8 metres, and a gross tonnage of 185,000 tons, making it the largest Maersk-affiliated container ship to transit the canal in two years.
The ship handled containers at East Port Said before bunkering environmentally friendly methanol and joining the northbound convoy en route to Oman.
The voyage marks the first transit of the ME-11 service on the India/Middle East–Mediterranean trade lane under Gemini Cooperation, an alliance between Maersk Line and Hapag-Lloyd. The alliance recently announced it would redirect the service through the Suez Canal in both directions starting mid-February, replacing the longer Cape of Good Hope route.
The rerouting reflects “a return to the shortest and most sustainable route for global trade between East and West,” SCA Chairman and Managing Director Ossama Rabiee said, adding that it underscores the commitment of major shipping lines to resume regular transits through the canal.
Rabiee noted that the authority has begun to “reap the first fruits” of efforts to restore major shipping routes, citing sustained communication with clients and flexible marketing policies aimed at gradually increasing navigation rates.
According to the SCA, incentive programmes implemented in 2025 attracted 784 vessels with a total net tonnage of 36.6 million tons, generating revenues of $170.4 million.
The ASTRID MAERSK also benefited from Navigational Circular No. 3/2025, which grants a 15 percent toll reduction for container ships exceeding 130,000 net tons, whether laden or in ballast. Since May, the circular has drawn 64 vessels with a combined net tonnage of 9.9 million tons, the authority said.
In line with SCA protocol for first-time transits, senior pilots boarded the vessel to welcome the crew and present a commemorative gift to the ship’s master.
Navigation statistics released on Tuesday showed that 36 vessels transited the canal with a total gross tonnage of about 2 million tons.
On Sunday, Rabiee announced that the Suez Canal recorded a 24.5 percent rise in revenues, a nine percent increase in vessel traffic, and a 24.2 percent jump in cargo tonnage in the final quarter of 2025.
Transit activity has gradually resumed in recent months as major shipping lines reassessed their routes following extended disruptions to global trade corridors, particularly in the Red Sea and the Bab El-Mandab Strait.
In response, the SCA maintained uninterrupted operations, strengthened navigational safety procedures, and expanded pilotage and escort services for ultra-large container vessels.
The authority also rolled out flexible pricing mechanisms and targeted incentive schemes to encourage carriers to reinstate regular Suez transits.
Earlier in January, the SCA reported an 18.5 percent increase in revenues during the first half of fiscal year 2025/2026, reflecting a steady return of shipping traffic as security conditions in the Red Sea showed signs of improvement.
Global shipping flows had been severely disrupted since October 2023, when numerous major carriers diverted vessels away from the canal following attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea linked to the war in Gaza, a shift that cost the authority an estimated $7 billion in lost revenues.
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