Suez Canal Welcomes Maersk Giant on Maiden Voyage

The Suez Canal welcomed the container vessel Astrid Maersk on its maiden transit, highlighting the canal’s continued appeal to global shipping lines.

The 350-meter-long, 54-meter-wide vessel with a draft of 14.8 meters and a total capacity of 185,000 tons is the largest Maersk container ship to pass through the canal in two years. Astrid Maersk handled container operations at East Port Said Terminal before refueling with environmentally friendly methanol and proceeding northbound toward Oman.

This voyage marks the first Suez transit under the ME-11 shipping service, connecting India, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean. Operated by the Gemini Shipping Alliance, a partnership between Maersk Line and Hapag-Lloyd, the service was recently redirected from the Cape of Good Hope to the Suez Canal in both directions starting mid-February.

The transit benefited from Suez Canal Navigation Bulletin 3/2025, which offers a 15% toll reduction for container vessels with net tonnage exceeding 130,000 tons, whether loaded or empty. Since its introduction in May 2025, the bulletin has attracted 64 vessels totaling 9.9 million tons in net cargo.

In 2025, the Suez Canal Authority’s marketing incentives helped attract 784 ships with a combined net tonnage of 36.6 million tons, generating $170.4 million in revenue. Officials say these policies continue to strengthen the canal’s role as a strategic hub in global shipping.