Suez Canal Authority Chief to hold joint press conference with Maersk Group CEO, address latest maritime navigation updates

CAIRO – 24 November 2025: Admiral Osama Rabie, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, will address the latest developments in canal navigation, maritime activity, and services provided following the cessation of Houthi attacks on vessels transiting the Red Sea.

He is scheduled to deliver his remarks during a joint press conference with the Maersk Group on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, at the new marina building in Ismailia.

In mid-November 2025, Admiral Rabie confirmed the canal’s readiness to receive giant container ships after stability returned to the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb regions. This followed a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Houthis had earlier suspended their attacks on ships in response to the ceasefire. On October 16, 2025, Houthi military forces reported that their naval operations had targeted Israeli vessels violating Yemen’s navigation ban, carrying out 346 operations across the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean, targeting more than 228 ships.

In 2025, the Suez Canal recorded a significant decline in activity during the 2024/2025 fiscal year, according to a report from the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation.

The report indicated that overall canal activity fell by 52% compared to the previous year. In the final quarter of the fiscal year, activity also dropped by 5.5% year-over-year. This quarterly decrease appeared even sharper due to a substantial 68.2% contraction in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

The Ministry attributed the slowdown primarily to unstable global conditions and ongoing geopolitical tensions in the region.