Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie announced that the canal’s navigation traffic witnessed the transit of the French giant container ship CMA CGM NOTRE DAME, one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered container vessels, on its maiden voyage through the canal.
The vessel crossed the canal as part of the southbound convoy, arriving from Singapore and heading to France. In a release press issued on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, the Suez Canal Authority said the ship is 399.9 meters long, 61.3 meters wide, has a draft of 16.5 meters, a total tonnage of 245,000 tons and can carry up to 24,212 containers.
It is powered by LNG and equipped with advanced artificial intelligence technologies. The ship was specifically designed for long-distance voyages between continents and operates on the FAL3 service route linking the Far East and Northwestern Europe. The Suez Canal Authority chairman directed the implementation of the necessary measures to ensure the vessel’s safe passage, including assigning a team of senior authority pilots and providing navigational assistance through accompanying tugboats.
In line with the authority’s protocol for vessels making their first transit through the Canal, Rabie delegated Chief Senior Pilot Captain Abdel Rahman Shaheen, Chief Pilot Captain Abdullah Gad and Expert Pilot Captain Nader Nagy to board the vessel, welcome its crew and present the ship’s captain with a commemorative gift.
Rabie affirmed that the Suez Canal is fully prepared to accommodate the world’s largest and most modern container vessels, thanks to its unique strategic advantages that contribute to securing global supply chains and achieving economic savings, maintaining its position as the preferred and sustainable route for global trade between East and West.
He added that the Suez Canal continues to enhance its services by improving maritime operations and introducing new navigation services to meet customers’ requirements and ensure the highest standards of maritime safety for mega-vessels.