The Suez Canal has witnessed the first transit by an ultra-large container vessel (ULCV) in two years, in a sign of growing confidence in maritime security in the region. 

The 23,000 TEU CMA CGM Jacques Saade passed southwards through the waterway on Tuesday, the Suez Canal Authority said in a statement on its website.

Leading shipping companies have been avoiding the Red Sea and Suez Canal for the past two years in response to Houthi attacks near the coast of Yemen, favouring longer voyages around Africa instead.

This has delivered a significant boost to global bunker demand, an effect that is likely to be diminished next year as Suez transits become more widespread.

“The return of major shipping lines is the culmination of the Authority’s intensive marketing efforts over the past period,” Admiral Ossama Rabiee, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, said in the statement.

“Next year will witness a gradual improvement in Canal traffic rates, reaching normal rates in the second half of the year.”