The sinking of two bulk carriers in the Red Sea — the 2012-built Handy ETERNITY C and the 2016-built Ultramax MAGIC SEAS — occurred just as owners and operators appeared to be allowing larger Container Ships to resume transits through the Suez Canal.
Over the past two months, traffic through the canal by smaller sub-Panamax vessels (less than 4,000 TEU capacity) fell to under 100 vessels in both May and June. Notably, June marked the first year-over-year decline in monthly crossings for this segment since April 2021.
Meanwhile, Container Ships in the 4,000-7,500 TEU range increased their transits, surpassing 40 crossings per month in both May and June for the first time since March 2024.
No significant changes were observed for ships in the 7,500–18,000 TEU capacity range. However, ULCS Megamax Container Ships (18,000+ TEU) have continued to avoid the region entirely — now for the 15th consecutive month.
Alphaliner’s AXSInsights module allows you to monitor Canals’ traffic, as well as Cape of Good Hope reroutes, in as much detail as you need.
Source: Alphaliner
