The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has officially suspended the 15% discount on transit fees previously granted to large container vessels. The policy reversal took effect on Tuesday, confirmed by a circular published on the SCA website on April 2, 2026.
The 15% rebate previously required no application or document submission; it was automatically applied to qualifying vessels during transit. Moving forward, operators must prepare for standard pricing.
The suspension applies to ships meeting the following criteria:
Vessels with a Suez Canal Net Tonnage (SCNT) of 130,000 tons or more.
Ships operating in both laden and ballast conditions.
Vessels transiting the canal in either northbound or southbound directions.
With the automated discount removed, large containerships will now pay the full, standard transit fees.
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The SCA originally introduced the 15% discount in May 2025 as a strategic market incentive. At the time, the rebate was designed to encourage major ocean carriers that had rerouted their fleets around the Cape of Good Hope to return to the Suez Canal.
The decision to scrap the discount marks a significant shift in the SCA’s approach to incentivizing container traffic, reflecting a reassessment of the waterway’s current operational and commercial dynamics.