{"id":717,"date":"2026-09-17T03:39:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T03:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regulasshipping.com\/blog\/oocl-portugal-makes-coscos-first-southbound-suez-transit-as-houthi-control-tightens\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T03:39:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T03:39:34","slug":"oocl-portugal-makes-coscos-first-southbound-suez-transit-as-houthi-control-tightens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regulasshipping.com\/blog\/oocl-portugal-makes-coscos-first-southbound-suez-transit-as-houthi-control-tightens\/","title":{"rendered":"OOCL Portugal Makes COSCO\u2019s First Southbound Suez Transit as Houthi Control Tightens"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Suez Canal Authority said on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, that the Hong Kong-flagged ultra-large container ship OOCL Portugal<\/em> transited with the north convoy on a voyage from Belgium to China \u2014 the first southbound Suez passage by a COSCO SHIPPING Lines ship since tensions in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb forced the Ocean Alliance majors off the canal. Chairman and Managing Director Adm. Ossama Rabiee described the sailing as the return of a COSCO-affiliated mega-containership to the waterway. The ship is on Ocean Alliance\u2019s NEU2 service, which links Far East and North-West Europe ports. SCA chief pilots boarded under the Authority\u2019s first-transit protocol and presented a commemorative gift to the master. That ceremony is not a threat assessment. It is Egypt recording that a 24,000-TEU hull is again using Port Said as the Asia\u2013Europe gate while Houthi forces hold Mokha, Perim and the Hanish islands at the other end of the same corridor.<\/p>\n

Register particulars are tighter than the Authority\u2019s round numbers. OOCL Portugal<\/em>, IMO 9922615, is a 2024-built Hong Kong-flagged container ship of 399 metres length and about 61.3 metres beam, 235,341 gt and 224,998 dwt, with a stated intake of 24,188 TEU. Her MMSI is 477015400 and her call sign is VRWF8. SCA\u2019s same-day brief put length at approximately 400 metres, beam at 61.3 metres, gross tonnage at 247,000 tons and capacity at up to 24,000 TEU. Those figures describe the same ship. The north-convoy routing is the southbound canal transit: the vessel entered from the Mediterranean and is bound for China via the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb. gCaptain and The Maritime Executive, citing the Authority, treated the sailing as OOCL\u2019s first Suez return and COSCO\u2019s first southbound canal passage since the Red Sea security crisis began.<\/p>\n

Wednesday was not an empty canal waiting for one prestige ship. SCA said 39 vessels transited that day, with a combined net tonnage of 2.3 million tons. A day earlier, on 15 September, 45 ships went through. Both prints remain well below the waterway\u2019s pre-Houthi peak. They are also no longer a canal that only tankers and bulkers use. Pictures from the same convoys showed MSC and CMA CGM tonnage, and a Wan Hai containership. Rabiee said CMA CGM, Maersk, MSC, Hapag-Lloyd and COSCO have all restored services on the Europe\u2013Asia route to varying degrees. Container-ship net tonnage through the canal in January\u2013August 2026 reached about 72.1 million tons, up 54.2 percent from 46.7 million tons in the same period of 2025. That is a recovery from the 2025 dip \u2014 12,758 transits for the full year, down 3.4 percent from 2024 \u2014 not a return to the years before the Red Sea attacks.<\/p>\n

A backhaul-first restoration, not a cleared strait<\/h2>\n

The commercial shape of this week\u2019s Suez return is still asymmetric. COSCO and OOCL had been expected, on Linerlytica\u2019s 14 September read, to start eastbound canal transits from 15 September. OOCL Portugal<\/em>\u2019s Belgium\u2013China voyage is that eastbound, southbound product: Europe cargo going home to Asia on the shorter water, not a loaded westbound headhaul from China into North Europe. Industry commentator Lars Jensen has already pointed out that the first Ocean Alliance restorations are mostly backhaul, and that Evergreen, the third Ocean Alliance member, is not yet returning to the canal. A 24,188-TEU NEU2 sailing through Port Said therefore tells operators something precise. COSCO is willing to put a new-build ULCV into the Red Sea on the Europe-to-Asia leg. It has not, on Wednesday\u2019s evidence, put the alliance\u2019s full westbound headhaul back onto that coast, and it has not brought Evergreen with it.<\/p>\n

That sits beside two other restorations already on the liner board this week, and it should not be merged with them. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd said on 14 September that four more Gemini Cooperation services \u2014 AE5, AE11, AE12 and ME2 \u2014 will leave the Cape of Good Hope and use Suez in both directions, joining AE15 and AE19. The first named Gemini westbound is Antonia Maersk<\/em> voyage 635W on AE11 from Tanjung Pelepas on 19 September. MSC, separately, will restore Indusa westbound-only through Suez from 23 September, with MSC Domna X<\/em> voyage IV637A out of Colombo; eastbound Indusa stays on the Cape. COSCO\u2019s first southbound ULCV is a third network decision. Gemini is a two-way Asia\u2013Europe bet with an explicit stability caveat. MSC Indusa is a one-way India\u2013U.S.\/Mexico product on a Liberia-flagged, ISPS Level 3 hull. OOCL\/COSCO is an Ocean Alliance backhaul through the canal on a Hong Kong-flagged 2024-built mega-boxship. Cargo planners who collapse those three notices into \u201ccarriers are back in Suez\u201d will mis-declare direction, alliance and threat file.<\/p>\n

Capacity numbers already show how far the return has gone, and how far it has not. Sea-Intelligence estimates that more than a quarter of Asia\u2013Europe capacity will sail via the Red Sea in September, with about 35 percent of Asia\u2013Mediterranean headhaul and 50 to 60 percent of backhauls on Suez. Asia\u2013North Europe is slower: about 6 percent of headhaul and 30 percent of backhaul restored. That split is why a southbound NEU2 ULCV is the story. North Europe headhaul is still mostly on the Cape. The backhaul is where the canal is being tested first, because the commercial pain of extra sea-days is acute on the return leg and because a Europe-to-Asia sailing still has to run the same Yemeni coast. Freightos\u2019 16 September weekly update put last week\u2019s Asia\u2013North Europe spot at about $4,300 per FEU, down 3 percent, and Asia\u2013Mediterranean at about $4,200 per FEU, down 12 percent. Daily rates on both lanes had eased to about $3,800 per FEU. Those declines sit on restored Red Sea capacity and softer post-peak demand. They are not a war-risk discount. Both lanes remain more than 20 percent and 50 percent, respectively, above mid-May pre-peak levels, and Far East and North Europe hub congestion is still in the rate.<\/p>\n

The southern gate has moved the other way<\/h2>\n

Every southbound Suez transit still has to leave the canal, run the Red Sea and pass Bab el-Mandeb. That southern gate is not in the same condition it was when the first cautious liner returns began. Houthi forces seized Mokha this month, then moved onto islands around the strait, including Perim and the Greater and Lesser Hanish group. Kpler-counted Bab el-Mandeb transits have already printed as low as six ships against about 30 on a recent Friday. The UN Security Council held a second emergency meeting on Yemen on 15 September; Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari described Bab el-Mandeb as volatile. The Houthis have so far limited their declared naval blockade to Saudi-associated shipping and have told U.S. officials in Oman that they would not target American or Israeli vessels while reserving the right to attack Saudi shipping. Container operators are trading on that distinction. It is a political statement by an armed group that has already killed seafarers. IMO confirmed four fatalities in the 11 August attack on a merchant vessel off Al Mokha. A COSCO southbound ULCV is still a merchant ship on that coast.<\/p>\n

Maersk\u2019s public language on the Gemini restorations remains the only carrier sentence that should be copied into a voyage order: the safety of crew, vessels and customers\u2019 cargo is the highest priority, and future routing depends on stability and the absence of further escalation. COSCO has not, in SCA\u2019s Wednesday notice, published an equivalent caveat. The Authority\u2019s job is to sell the canal. The operator\u2019s job is to assume that a 24,188-TEU ship in the north convoy still needs BMP Maritime Security, UKMTO reporting, a citadel and fire plan, and a Cape contingency if the southern Red Sea closes behind her. Sailing through Suez cuts thousands of miles, fuel and extra ships compared with the Cape. It also puts a new-build Hong Kong-flagged ULCV into a corridor where Houthi coastal control has tightened in the same week the canal is celebrating a 54 percent rise in container net tonnage.<\/p>\n

The operational implication for shippers and connecting carriers is directional. Europe cargo booked to Asia on NEU2 may now show a Suez transit time and a Red Sea war-risk exposure that the Cape sailing did not carry. China and other Far East cargo still waiting for a westbound Ocean Alliance headhaul through Suez should not read Wednesday\u2019s north-convoy photograph as that product. Evergreen remains on the Cape. Gemini\u2019s two-way Asia\u2013Europe restorations are a different alliance with named first ships next week. MSC\u2019s Indusa change is a different trade. War-risk additional premiums, Saudi-association screening, and any Bab el-Mandeb reporting requirement attach to the water, not to SCA\u2019s commemorative gift. A 39-ship day at 2.3 million net tons is a canal that is working. It is not a canal whose southern exit has been signed off by UKMTO, MSCIO or the UN.<\/p>\n

What Operators Should Note<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Log OOCL Portugal<\/em>, IMO 9922615, as COSCO\u2019s first southbound Suez ULCV on 16 September, not as an Ocean Alliance-wide return.<\/strong> Hong Kong flag, call sign VRWF8, MMSI 477015400, 24,188 TEU, 399 metres, 2024-built, NEU2 Belgium\u2013China. Evergreen is not in this sailing. Westbound Asia\u2013North Europe headhaul on this alliance is not proved by a backhaul photograph.<\/li>\n
  • Keep the three liner restorations on separate boards.<\/strong> Gemini\u2019s AE5\/AE11\/AE12\/ME2 two-way Suez shift starts with named Maersk sailings from 19 September. MSC Indusa is westbound-only from Colombo on 23 September. COSCO\/OOCL is an eastbound southbound NEU2 test. Booking systems that store a single \u201cSuez restored\u201d flag will mis-route cargo.<\/li>\n
  • Treat Sea-Intelligence\u2019s September split as the capacity map.<\/strong> More than 25 percent of Asia\u2013Europe is on the Red Sea this month, but Asia\u2013North Europe headhaul is still only about 6 percent restored, with backhaul near 30 percent. Asia\u2013Mediterranean is further along. A north-convoy ULCV fits the backhaul-first pattern. It does not move the North Europe headhaul number by itself.<\/li>\n
  • Do not take SCA\u2019s 54 percent container-tonnage rise as a security downgrade.<\/strong> January\u2013August 2026 container net tonnage of 72.1 million tons versus 46.7 million a year earlier is a canal-recovery statistic. Wednesday\u2019s 39 ships and 2.3 million net tons are a traffic statistic. UKMTO, MSCIO, BMP Maritime Security and war-risk warranties still govern the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb.<\/li>\n
  • Screen Saudi-associated cargo, ownership, AIS presentation and charterers before a southbound load.<\/strong> The Houthi blockade line against Saudi-linked shipping has not been lifted. Mokha, Perim and the Hanish islands remain in Houthi hands. A Hong Kong flag and a China-bound box do not remove that screening problem from a ship that must still pass the Yemeni coast.<\/li>\n
  • Hold a Cape contingency for the same NEU2 voyage.<\/strong> Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have already said future Gemini routing depends on Red Sea stability. MSC kept case-by-case contingencies on Indusa. A first-transit ceremony at Port Said does not bind COSCO to the canal if Bab el-Mandeb closes. Charterers and BCOs should keep Cape transit times, extra bunker and missed-window clauses priced.<\/li>\n
  • Reprice insurance and surcharge lines on the actual water, not on the press photograph.<\/strong> A southbound Suez product can support a challenge to Cape-era diversion surcharges on that voyage. War-risk additional premiums attach to the Red Sea. Freightos\u2019 Asia\u2013Europe easing toward $3,800 per FEU already prices extra canal capacity. It does not price a Houthi projectile.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Regulas Shipping will keep lining SCA\u2019s OOCL Portugal<\/em> southbound transit against Gemini, MSC Indusa and the Houthi file at Bab el-Mandeb so operators can treat Wednesday\u2019s canal photograph as a backhaul routing change with a live southern-Red-Sea threat, not as a declaration that the strait is clear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Suez Canal Authority said on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, that the Hong Kong-flagged ultra-large container ship OOCL Portugal transited with the north convoy on a voyage from Belgium to China \u2014 the first southbound Suez passage by a COSCO SHIPPING Lines ship since tensions in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb forced the Ocean […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":716,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpai_generated_summary":"","wpai_meta_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,18,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights","category-maritime-industry","category-maritime-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regulasshipping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regulasshipping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regulasshipping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regulasshipping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regulasshipping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regulasshipping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regulasshipping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regulasshipping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regulasshipping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regulasshipping.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}