Egypt's Suez Canal Authority announced Tuesday it would slash transit fees by 15 percent for large container ships in a bid to draw global shipping giants back to the route.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said last month that the country had lost around $7 billion in Suez Canal revenues in 2024 due to attacks by Yemen's Huthi rebels on vessels transiting the Red Sea.
In a statement, the authority's head Osama Rabie said that the temporary incentive -- effective from Thursday and lasting 90 days -- applies to vessels with a net tonnage of 130,000 or more, whether loaded or empty.
Rabie said the decision comes in an effort to "encourage major shipping lines to return to transiting the Suez Canal, given the favourable conditions and relative stability and calm in the security situation in the Red Sea area".
The United States and Yemen's Huthis agreed a ceasefire last week, in a deal mediators said would ensure "freedom of navigation" in the Red Sea.
Huthi rebels have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since late 2023, in what they say is a campaign in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Yemeni rebels had paused their attacks during a recent two-month ceasefire in the Gaza war.
But in March, they threatened to resume attacks on shipping over Israel's aid blockade on the Gaza Strip, triggering a response from the US military, which began hammering the rebels with near-daily air strikes.
The Suez Canal, a key waterway linking Europe and Asia, accounted for about 10 percent of global maritime trade before the attacks began.