The ONE shipping line has resumed transits through the Suez Canal, with its container ship ONE CONTINUITY passing through the waterway on Sunday as part of the southbound convoy on a voyage from Singapore to the Netherlands, Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Chairman Osama Rabie announced.
The vessel, operated by Ocean Network Express (ONE), is 320 metres long and 46 metres wide, has a gross tonnage of 88,000 tonnes and a capacity of up to 8,110 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
The ship operates on the FE1 service run by the Premier Alliance, which also includes HMM and Yang Ming. The service links major ports along the trade route between the Far East and north-western Europe.
Rabie said the return of major shipping lines to the canal underscored its importance as a sustainable route for global trade between East and West.
He said the SCA had maintained effective communication with shipping customers since the outbreak of the Red Sea crisis, closely monitoring geopolitical developments and market changes. These efforts had helped co-ordinate the gradual resumption of transits by major shipping lines, paving the way for their full return.
Rabie stressed that the canal was fully prepared to operate at full capacity and accommodate the return of large container ships.
He added that three more services operated by the Premier Alliance were scheduled to resume transits through the canal rather than reroute around the Cape of Good Hope.
For his part, ONE CONTINUITY Captain Oleksandr Shumakov said returning to the Suez Canal was extremely important for the shipping line, as the waterway significantly shortens sailing distances between Asia and Europe, enabling cargo to reach its destinations faster while reducing fuel consumption compared with the alternative route around the Cape of Good Hope.
Shumakov praised the high standard of navigational services provided by the SCA during the vessel’s transit, commending the co-operation of canal pilots and accompanying tugboats.
He also expressed appreciation for the authority’s efforts to upgrade the canal’s navigational channel by widening sections of the waterway and extending its dual-lane stretches, making navigation easier and safer.
