Egypt launches commercial operations at Red Sea terminal in Sokhna

Egypt has officially commissioned a new container terminal at Ain Sokhna port, near the southern entrance of the Suez Canal.

IMAGE: Shipping route between Ain Sokhna port in Egypt and Port of Rotterdam via the Suez Canal. ENGINE

Ain Sokhna port is located on the western coast of the Gulf of Suez, on the Red Sea. The deepwater terminal is capable of handling ultra-large container vessels, Red Sea Container Terminals said in a social media post.

The launch of commercial operations at the terminal comes as some container liners, including Maersk and CMA CGM, have begun a gradual return to the Red Sea after Yemen’s Houthi group indicated it had stopped targeting commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea.

Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk sent a couple of container vessels through the Red Sea as part of its “stepwise approach” to test a potential return to the route.

CMA CGM's INDAMEX service has started transiting the Suez Canal for voyages between India, Pakistan and the US East Coast, according to freight intelligence platform, Xeneta.

“Until now, these transits via Suez Canal have been on a case-by-case basis, diverting voyages originally scheduled to sail around Cape of Good Hope. CMA CGM’s announcement… is important because it is a structural change with a service proforma to transit Suez Canal on every sailing,” Peter Sand, Chief Analyst at Xeneta said in a report last December.

Separately, the Suez Canal Authority has extended a 15% transit fee rebate for container ships until 30 June 2026, as part of its efforts to attract container traffic back to the canal.

By Konica Bhatt

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