Despite the hope sparked by truces with Houthi rebels and the passage of a few large container ships in June, traffic in the Red Sea has never truly resumed. Faced with danger—and with the situation in Gaza likely to worsen—the maritime world is now operating without the canal.
The Suez Canal sees no light at the end of the tunnel. The hopes glimpsed in the spring have not materialized in the figures. The ceasefire reached in early May between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and the United States, followed by a 15% tariff reduction for large container ships over three months announced by the Egyptian Suez Canal Authority, could have signaled a recovery in traffic. Yet, statistics from recent months show activity remains sluggish—if not lower than in 2024. Major container shipping services continue to avoid the area, and the situation could worsen.
Traffic continues to decline
The numbers speak for themselves: the Suez Canal handled around 3,000 ships in both the first and second quarters of this year. That’s barely half the traffic it saw during the same periods in 2023—and in fact, a few hundred ships fewer than last year, even as the Red Sea crisis was in full swing with Houthi rebel attacks in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait (the gateway to the Red Sea and an essential passage to reach the canal).
Source: latribune
