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Last look 10 September 2026 Is the Suez Canal closed — and does my UK parcel still use it? No. The canal through Egypt is open. The sticky bit is the Red Sea on the way in — Bab el-Mandeb, off Yemen. In 2023 a record 26,434 ships used the canal. In 2025 that had fallen to about half. Big container ships stayed away longest. Tankers have come back faster. If your UK booking does not say Suez in writing, plan for the Cape and add two weeks. |
People treat “Suez” as one place. It is two rooms. A ship from Asia must cross the porch before it can use the hallway.
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The porch · Bab el-Mandeb and the Red Sea Narrow water between Yemen and the Horn of Africa. This is where ships have been attacked since late 2023. This is why captains turn south. |
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The hallway · Suez Canal, Egypt About 193 km of man-made water from Suez in the south to Port Said on the Mediterranean. Opened 1869. No locks. A transit takes roughly 11–16 hours. It is not closed. |
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Then Britain Mediterranean → Gibraltar → English Channel → Felixstowe, London Gateway or Southampton. Same three UK doors as the Cape. Two weeks sooner if the ship really took this road. |
How busy was Suez before the Red Sea trouble?
The Suez Canal Authority’s own peak year was 2023: 26,434 transits, about 72 ships a day, and about 1.57 billion net tons. Canal income that year was a record $10.2 billion. Container ships were about 22% of those transits — roughly 16 container ships a day.
That is the “normal” people still have in their heads when they book a China–UK date.
How much of that traffic is left?
Not half in the way that helps a British importer. Total ship counts fell hard, then recovered unevenly. Tankers came back. The big box ships did not.
| Measure | Then | Later official or trade count |
| All ships through Suez | 26,434 in 2023 (SCA) | About 12,758 in 2025 — roughly half |
| Canal income | $10.2bn in 2023 | $4.1bn in 2025. July 2026 month: $505m, 1,340 ships (CAPMAS) |
| Container ships, all sizes | 2023 baseline | About 32% of 2023 in 2025 (Alphaliner) |
| Big container ships (7,500 TEU+) | The Asia–Europe workhorses | About 6% of 2023 in 2025. Almost none of the giants used Bab el-Mandeb that year. |
| Smaller container ships | Regional and feeder | Nearly back to 2023 by late 2025 |
How much of 2023 container traffic was still on the short cut in 2025
| Still on Suez · ~32% | On the Cape or elsewhere · ~68% |
| Big ships ~6% | The ships that carry UK shop stock from China mostly stayed off this road |
July 2026 looked busier because tankers used the canal when Hormuz tightened — 526 of that month’s 1,340 ships were oil tankers (CAPMAS). More ships in the ditch does not mean your Next coat is on one of them.
Where is Bab el-Mandeb and why does it matter more than the canal?
It is the southern gate of the Red Sea, between Yemen and Djibouti / Eritrea. A ship coming from Asia or the Gulf must squeeze through it to sail north to Suez. No porch, no hallway. From late 2023 the Houthis attacked merchant ships there. Container lines left. Some tankers and bulk ships kept using it when the cargo economics said so. In September 2026 the water is still described as operationally hazardous for many operators, even though ships do pass.
The United States’ maritime advisory covering the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden has been extended into late September 2026. That is a warning to captains, not a closure order. Insurance prices do the closing when they get too high.
Who still uses the short cut — and who does not?
| Ship | 2026 habit | Why |
| Oil and product tankers | Back on Suez in numbers | Different owners, different cover. April 2026 tanker transits were reported up sharply on the year. |
| Grain and dry bulk | Often the short cut | One cargo, one owner. Not a floating high street. |
| Small container ships | Mostly returned | Feeders and regional loops. Not the China–Felixstowe giants. |
| Big Asia–UK container ships | Mostly still the Cape | A ship full of mixed parcels is a poor target. Some named services have tried Suez, then sometimes left again. |
MSC, Maersk and CMA CGM have each put some loops back through Bab el-Mandeb in 2026. Maersk has said a slice of its old Cape volume is on Suez again. Ocean Alliance still printed Cape as the plan, with a Suez version in the drawer. That split is why “the market” is a useless answer. You need the name of your ship.
If my ship is on Suez, how much time do I get back?
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| Lane | Suez | Cape | You get back |
| China to Felixstowe | 31–33 days | 43–47 days | 12–14 days |
| China to Rotterdam | 30–32 days | 42–46 days | 10–14 days |
| Singapore to northern Europe | 25–27 days | 36–40 days | 11–13 days |
Bank those two weeks only when the booking says Suez and the line will tell you if they divert mid-voyage. A service that “returned” in July can be on the Cape again in September.
Which UK ports does a Suez ship use?
The same three as the Cape: Felixstowe, London Gateway and Southampton. The short cut does not invent a new British door. It only changes how soon the ship is in the Channel. Dover is ferries to France. Immingham is energy and bulk. Neither is this lane.
Does a Suez sailing change what is on a Tesco shelf?
Only the date. The same clothes, toys, electronics and flat-packs travel both roads. Suez does not add baked beans. It can put a November toy in a warehouse in time. The Cape can put that same toy in after the window. Fresh British food never used this road. Diesel is Hormuz. Bread inputs are the Black Sea.
The shop still gets stock. The calendar is not interchangeable. Whole aisle: why UK shops run out when a sea route is stuck.
Will the short cut come back for Christmas 2026?
Do not plan Christmas on a hope. Some analysts said a fuller container return could show by late 2026. Other desks still treat the Cape as the printed network. For stock that must be on a British shelf in December, count backwards on the long road. First half of October to leave East Asia is the safe line. If your particular ship is confirmed on Suez, you gain two weeks — as a bonus, not as the plan.
What should I ask the shipping line today?
| Ask | If they say |
| Is this sailing via Suez or via the Cape? | Cape — add two weeks. Suez — keep the shorter date, and ask what happens if they divert. |
| Will you tell me if the ship is switched? | You want a yes. A silent switch is how peak stock misses the bay. |
| Which UK port? | Felixstowe, London Gateway or Southampton. |
The long road: Cape of Good Hope. Live board: are the sea routes into the UK open? Energy gate: Hormuz.
Canal length and character: Suez Canal Authority. 2023 peak 26,434 transits and $10.2bn: SCA / CAPMAS. 2025 ship count and container shares: SCA figures reported in trade press; Alphaliner on containership recovery by size. July 2026 month: CAPMAS via Bloomberg. Sea-day ranges in common 2026 freight use. This page is not live ship-tracking.