Ocean Network Express (ONE) resumed transits through Egypt’s Suez Canal on Sunday as its 8,110-container ONE Continuity crossed the waterway from Singapore towards the Netherlands, reinforcing the recovery of Asia–Europe shipping routes disrupted by the Red Sea crisis.
The 320-metre vessel operates on the FE1 service of Premier Alliance, comprising ONE, South Korea’s HMM and Taiwan’s Yang Ming.
The return carries significant commercial benefits. According to shipping consultancy Alphaliner, routing FE1 through Suez reduces its round-trip schedule from 13 to 11 weeks, potentially lowering vessel deployment requirements, fuel consumption and operating costs compared with sailing around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie said three additional Premier Alliance services were expected to return, describing the canal as fully prepared to accommodate renewed container traffic.
For Egypt, the return strengthens an increasingly important recovery in foreign-currency earnings. Canal revenues surged 94% year on year to $724 million in October, while vessel transits increased 32% to 1,490, according to Suez Canal Authority figures.
The resumption comes as international shipping lines gradually restore routes abandoned following Red Sea attacks that began in late 2023.
However, the recovery remains uneven. Although more shipping companies are returning to Suez, a broader restoration of regular services still depends on Red Sea security and carriers’ operational risk assessments.
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