EGYPT · SHIPPING
Key Facts
- —The country Egypt is a North African country whose Suez Canal links the Mediterranean and the Red Sea and carries about 12% of world trade.
- —What happened On Wednesday 21 October 2026, Suez Canal Authority chairman Osama Rabie met Hapag-Lloyd’s Southern Europe chief Juan Pablo Richards in Ismailia.
- —Services now Two Hapag-Lloyd services already use the canal to and from Asia, and more are expected to resume in the coming period.
- —Next sailing The Asia to Mediterranean service called SE1 sends its first ship, the Umm Qarn, through Suez from 27 October 2026.
- —Traffic About 36% of container capacity on Suez or Cape routes used the canal in early October, against 8% since 2024.
- —Freight Drewry priced a 40-foot box from Shanghai to Los Angeles at US$8,007 on 22 October, up 2% in a week.
- —Still open Which further Hapag-Lloyd services return, and when, depends on security reviews of each voyage.
Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority told the German shipping line Hapag-Lloyd on Wednesday 21 October 2026 that it wants its container services back in full. Two Hapag-Lloyd services already run through the canal to and from Asia, and more are expected to follow, Egyptian outlets reported.
For US readers, every container ship that takes the Suez shortcut shortens the trip between Asian factories and American shelves. Shipping costs are one input into the prices of imported goods in the United States.
What Was Said in Ismailia
Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie, who chairs the Suez Canal Authority, received Juan Pablo Richards, Hapag-Lloyd’s Southern Europe chief, at its Ismailia headquarters. The authority is the Egyptian state body that runs the waterway and collects its tolls.
Rabie told the delegation the canal is ready to receive all kinds of shipping services and that the authority keeps upgrading its services and fleet. He said he looks forward to the full return of Hapag-Lloyd’s services and called the canal vital to stable global supply chains.
Two Services Run and More Are Due
Richards said two Hapag-Lloyd services already pass through the canal to and from Asia, and that more are expected to resume in the coming period. He added that the company is watching Red Sea conditions and maritime safety indicators before it adjusts its sailing schedules.
Hapag-Lloyd is a container line based in Hamburg, Germany, and it shares ships with Denmark’s Maersk in a pact called Gemini. Their Asia to Mediterranean service, named SE1 by Hapag-Lloyd, is due to start sailing through Suez on 27 October.
The first ship on that route, the Umm Qarn, leaves Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia on 27 October, according to the line’s announcement in late September. Hapag-Lloyd calls its approach gradual and service by service, not a full return of the Gemini network to the Red Sea.
A Canal Winning Back Traffic
BIMCO, the international shipowners’ association, said weekly container capacity through the Suez Canal averaged 753,000 standard boxes in early October. That is more than half of the 1.46 million weekly average of 2023, before ships began avoiding the Red Sea.
About 36% of container capacity moving by either Suez or the Cape of Good Hope used the canal in early October, BIMCO said. The average from 2024 to mid-2026 was 8%, and the share before the attacks on shipping was 80%.
What the Canal Earns Now
Rabie said in September that 1,358 ships crossed in August, up 27%, and that revenue reached US$567.1 million, up from US$326 million. Rio Times set out those figures in its report on Suez Canal revenue still far below its peak.
Revenue for the year to June 2026 rose 23% to US$4.67 billion, under half the roughly US$10 billion earned yearly before the crisis. Rio Times also tracked how canal revenue climbed 13% in the second quarter as shipping patterns shifted.
What Hapag-Lloyd Still Watches
Hapag-Lloyd said each Suez voyage still gets its own security review, and that its ships sail under naval protection and in coordination with security partners. It said its earlier passages through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the narrow gate between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, went as planned.
The Houthis, an Iran-aligned armed group that holds much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, remain a threat to shipping. Lloyd’s List Intelligence said they declared a blockade of Saudi Arabia on 20 July, and a projectile hit the tanker Amzan on 24 August.
Training Plan for Damietta Port
Richards also proposed that the authority’s Maritime Training and Simulation Academy work with the Damietta Alliance Container Terminal on training for ship captains. Hapag-Lloyd is among the main investors in that terminal, known as Tahya Misr 1.
Marwan Al-Sammak, who chairs Hapag-Lloyd’s board in Egypt, joined the talks with two Canal Authority department heads, Fathy Abdel Bary and Abdel Rahman Ramadan. Damietta port lies on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast and handles containers bound for Europe and Asia.
Freight Costs Rise Again
Drewry, a London shipping consultancy, said on 22 October that a 40-foot container from Shanghai to Los Angeles cost US$8,007, up 2% in a week. It expects transpacific rates to hold steady next week because US import demand remains strong.
Drewry counted 55 Suez sailings in week 42, up from 54 a week earlier. Carriers also planned eight blank sailings on Asia to Europe routes, up from two, which cuts capacity and props up rates.
What It Means for US Readers
A shorter route from Asia to Europe saves a voyage days, which frees ships and can ease pressure on freight prices. Drewry’s price of US$8,007 for a box from Shanghai to Los Angeles shows how high ocean rates on US routes remain.
Retailers, importers and shoppers in the United States feel these costs with a delay, through the prices of goods such as furniture, electronics and clothing. A new attack in the Red Sea could send ships back around Africa and push rates up again.
What Is Not Known
Neither side has said which further Hapag-Lloyd services will return to the canal or when. No signed agreement on the Damietta training plan was reported.
Whether carriers keep their Suez routings depends on the security reviews of each voyage. The Houthi blockade on Saudi Arabia and wider tension in the Middle East could reverse the trend.
More: Egypt news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who met at the Suez Canal Authority on 21 October?
Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, met Hapag-Lloyd’s Southern Europe chief Juan Pablo Richards in Ismailia on Wednesday 21 October 2026. They discussed more Hapag-Lloyd transits and training cooperation at Damietta port.
How many Hapag-Lloyd services use the Suez Canal now?
Two services run to and from Asia, according to Egyptian reports of the meeting. Hapag-Lloyd expects more to follow, subject to security reviews.
When does the SE1 service start using Suez?
Its first ship, the Umm Qarn, leaves Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia on 27 October 2026. Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd’s partner in the Gemini pact, calls the same service AE12.
Why do container ships prefer the Suez route to the Cape of Good Hope?
The Suez route is much shorter between Asia and Europe, which saves time and fuel. Many carriers sailed around Africa instead after attacks on shipping began in the Red Sea.
Will the return of ships to Suez lower prices in the US?
Lower shipping costs can feed into import prices, but the link is slow and indirect. Freight rates on US routes rose again on 22 October, according to Drewry.
Sources: Al Mal News (Arabic), 21 October 2026; Daily News Egypt, 21 October 2026; Container News (BIMCO data), 15 October 2026; Drewry World Container Index, 22 October 2026; Container News (Hapag-Lloyd SE1), 28 September 2026; Lloyd’s List Intelligence, 27 August 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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