Evergreen Resumes Suez Canal Transits After Nearly Three Years

Taiwanese carrier Evergreen resumed transits through the Suez Canal with the container ship Ever Eon, ending nearly three years of suspension caused by attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) confirmed that this marks the company's first vessel passage through the Egyptian waterway since the crisis began.

According to Maritime Executive, the transit took place on Saturday, while Ship Bunker and Diario del Puerto place the vessel's passage on Sunday, as part of a convoy. The Ever Eon was sailing from the Netherlands to Singapore. It is a ULCV built last year, with a capacity that Maritime Executive puts at 16,500 TEU and that Ship Bunker and Diario del Puerto specify as 16,556 TEU, with a length overall of 369 meters and a beam of 53.6 meters, according to SCA figures. The vessel operates on the Ocean Alliance's NEU 7 service, which connects the Far East with Northwest Europe.

SCA Chairman and Managing Director Ossama Rabiee described Evergreen's return as a positive sign that global trade between East and West is getting back on track. Rabiee also indicated that the carrier plans to make additional voyages through the canal in the near term.

The SCA noted that Evergreen's return adds to that of other carriers already operating on the Red Sea route, such as CMA CGM, Maersk, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd and COSCO. According to Maritime Executive, CMA CGM maintained service in the Red Sea for much of the crisis period, while the other lines gradually resumed their operations, which reduces sailed miles, fuel consumption and transit times compared with the alternative route via the Cape of Good Hope.

Maritime Executive noted that the route still poses risks for vessels with a specific profile: the Houthis maintain a declared "embargo" on Saudi ports and remain in active hostilities with that country's forces, with recent attacks on vessels linked to Saudi Arabia. Houthi hostility toward Israel also persists, which has led Israeli carrier Zim to stay out of the Red Sea and has caused traffic at the Israeli port of Eilat to be rerouted to Mediterranean ports; in 2024 Eilat received just 16 vessels in total, a drop that port operators consider has made the terminal unprofitable.