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Major shipping companies are devising strategies for a return to the Suez Canal after more ‌than two years of disruptions due to security ‌risks in the ‍Red Sea.They have been rerouting vessels via longer, costlier routes around Africa ⁠since November 2023, following ⁠attacks on commercial ships by Yemen's Houthi forces, reportedly in solidarity ‍with Palestinians during warfare in Gaza. A ceasefire agreement reached in October 2025 has led some companies to explore resumption plans, although security remains a key concern. Below are the latest updates: MAERSK: The Danish shipping company said on Thursday it would resume sailings via the Red ‌Sea and Suez Canal for one of its services this month, after two vessels tested the route in December and earlier in ‍January.Maersk said its weekly ⁠service connecting ‌the Middle East and India with the US east coast will be first in the group's staggered return to the Suez route, starting on January 26 with a sailing departing Oman's port of Salalah. CMA CGM: The world's third-largest container shipping line, which has made limited Suez transits when security allows, will use the passage for its India-US INDAMEX service from January, according to a schedule published on its website. Two of ​its vessels sailed through ‌the Suez Canal in December, the authority that runs the waterway said at ⁠the time.CMA CGM ‍did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. HAPAG-LLOYD: German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd will not adjust its operations in the Red Sea for now, a spokesperson said on Thursday shortly after Maersk said it would resume sailings there.The group's ​CEO said in December that the return of the shipping industry to the Suez Canal would be gradual and there would be a transition period of 60-90 days to adjust logistics and avoid sudden port congestion. WALLENIUS WILHELMSEN: The Norwegian car shipping group is still assessing the situation and will not resume sailing until certain conditions are met, a company ⁠spokesperson said in December.The Suez Canal is the fastest route ‍linking Europe and Asia and, until the Houthi attacks, had accounted for about 10% of global seaborne trade, according to Clarksons Research.The ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, in place since October last year, has renewed hope of normalising Red Sea traffic.The ceasefire has ended major combat in Gaza over the past three months, but both sides have accused the other of regular violations. 

Maersk will resume sailings via the ‌Red Sea and Suez Canal ‍for one of its services this month, the shipping group said on Thursday, marking a first step ⁠towards ending two years of ⁠global trade disruption due to attacks on ships by Yemeni Houthi rebels.The Danish ‍shipping group's share price fell more than 7% on the news, reflecting the likelihood of lower freight rates as vessels gradually return to the shorter Suez route.Shipping companies are weighing a return to the critical Asia-Europe trade corridor after vessels were rerouted in late 2023 around Africa following the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea in what they said was to show ‌solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.Maersk said its weekly service connecting the Middle East and India with the US east coast, known as MECL, will be first in the group's ‍staggered return to the Suez ⁠route, starting on January ‌26 with a sailing departing Oman's port of Salalah."This decision follows a continued stabilisation of conditions in and around the Red Sea, including the Suez corridor, as well as improved stability and reliability in the region," Maersk said in a statement.The Danish group on Monday said one of its vessels had tested the route as a ceasefire in Gaza raised hopes for normal shipping traffic. One Maersk vessel also made a voyage through Suez in December."Maersk has decided to implement a structural return to the trans-Suez ​route for all MECL service ‌sailings," the company said in a statement, adding the aim was to offer customers "the most efficient transit times".The Suez ⁠Canal is the fastest route ‍linking Europe and Asia and, until the Houthi attacks, had accounted for about 10% of global seaborne trade, according to Clarksons Research."Maersk has contingency plans in place should the security situation deteriorate, which may necessitate reverting individual MECL sailings or the wider structural change of the MECL service back to the Cape of Good ​Hope route," it said.German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd will not adjust its operations in the Red Sea for now, a spokesperson said, but added that the company was closely monitoring the situation and Maersk's move changed the situation.The ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, in place since October last year, has renewed hope of normalising Red Sea traffic.The ceasefire has ended major combat in Gaza over the past three months, but both sides have accused the other of regular violations. ⁠ 

Shipping containers pass through the Suez Canal in Suez. Egypt's real gross domestic product grew by 4.5% in the 2024-25 financial year, up from 2.4% the previous year, Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk said Saturday, boosted by reforms tied to IMF financing and increased manufacturing activity, reports Reuters.The Arab world's most populous country has come under economic pressure from a currency devaluation in March 2024, high inflation, and the impact of the war in Gaza. Inflation, which peaked at a record 38% in September 2023, has begun to ease but remains high.Urban consumer price inflation fell to 13.9% in July from 14.9% in June. Egypt's fiscal year runs from July to the end of June. In the budget it had predicted GDP growth of 4.2%.Over the last year, the government accelerated economic reforms under an $8bn programme with the International Monetary Fund and secured $24bn in investment from the United Arab Emirates' sovereign wealth fund, including a major land deal on the Mediterranean coast.In a news conference reviewing Egypt's financial results, Kouchouk said the country lost 145bn Egyptian pounds ($2.99bn) in Suez Canal revenues in 2024-25 as a result of disruptions in the Red Sea from attacks by Yemen's Houthi militants on shipping. The previous year, revenues had reached $7.2bn.The minister also said Egypt imported 4.5mn metric tonnes of wheat, costing $1.2bn, down more than 21% from the previous year. Egypt, often the world's largest wheat importer, requires more than 8mn tonnes annually to produce subsidised bread for over 70mn citizens.The government bought just over 3.9mn tonnes locally this year, falling short of its 4mn-5mn tonnes target.