Red Sea calm revives shipping traffic through Suez Canal

Easing tensions in the Red Sea have delivered a boost to Egypt’s Suez Canal, with hundreds of ships returning to ply the global trade route in October.

Canal revenues rose 14% year-on-year between July and October, with 4,405 ships carrying 185 million tons of cargo during the period.

More than 200 ships returned to the canal in October, leading to the highest monthly total since Houthi attacks off Yemen sharply reduced traffic, Reuters reports.

Lieutenant General Osama Rabie, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, said that the positive climate following last month’s Sharm el-Sheikh summit on Gaza’s future encouraged many carriers to return.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis carried out over 100 attacks on ships in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Bab al-Mandab Strait, during 2023-2024.