Adm. Ossama Rabiee Meets with CMA CGM EVP to Boost Future Cooperation

18 August 2026
Category Navigation News

The meeting reviewed the Group's sailing schedules through the Suez Canal for the coming period.

199 CMA CGM Group vessels transit the Canal with a total net tonnage of 25.2 million tons since the beginning of the current year.

EVP for Assets and Operations at CMA CGM Group: “We reaffirm the Group's commitment to increasing transit shipping services through the canal and expanding the number of vessels operating across its various services."

Admiral Ossama Rabiee, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), today held a videoconference with Ms. Christine Cabau, CMA CGM Executive Vice President for Assets and Operations, and Mr. Tariq Zaghloul, CMA CGM Egypt and Sudan Cluster CEO, to explore means of expanding future cooperation.

The meeting is part of the Suez Canal Authority's ongoing strategy to establish direct communication channels with all its clients. During the meeting, parties exchanged views on the future of the joint relationship between the two sides and discussed the group's sailing policies through the Suez Canal.

At the outset of the meeting, Admiral Ossama Rabiee expressed his pride in the strategic partnership between the Suez Canal Authority and the French group CMA CGM, praising the group's commitment to using the Suez Canal as a primary transit route for its voyages.

The SCA chairman reported that navigation data for 2025 shows 212 vessels from the CMA CGM Group transited the canal, with a total net tonnage of 18.8 million tons. Since the start of this year, 199 vessels belonging to the French group have transited the canal, with a total net tonnage of 25.2 million tons, highlighting a notable increase in transit rates.

Christine Cabau, CMA CGM EVP for assets and operations, said she hopes to expand future cooperation as the group's vessels increasingly return to the Suez Canal. She also reaffirmed CMA CGM's commitment to accelerating its return to Suez Canal transits, noting that the group is working to expand its shipping services through the canal and increase the number of vessels operating across its various routes, establishing the Suez Canal as a primary corridor within the French group's fleet network.

She also highlighted an unprecedented leap in the adoption of sustainable operating technologies within the CMA CGM fleet, with a considerable number of the group's vessels now run on liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a more environmentally sustainable fuel.


 


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