Data for May first published in Al-Mal News, an Egyptian newspaper, shows Suez Canal revenues dropped from $648 million in May 2023 to about $337.8m last month, a drop of 48%. In May 2023, 2396 ships transited the canal, compared to 1111 last month, a drop of 54%. Tonnage dropped by more than 68%, from 142.9m tonnes to just 44.9m tonnes.
Commercial shipping has mostly been diverted around Africa and Cape Town, leading to higher shipping costs and emissions.
The website The Maritime Executive reports that the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) last week extended fee discounts for a range of vessels on selected long-distance trades. Initial fee reductions were introduced in January, with discounts as high as 75% offered for product tankers and crude carriers on voyages between the Americas and Asia.
The latest round of discounts will be valid until the end of the year, covering 12 categories of ships including bulk carriers, container ships and LNG carriers.
In anticipation of the Egypt International Boat Show, the SCA will also offer a 50% discount on transit fees for yachts under 300 tonnes from July to October.
Egyptian finance minister Mohamed Maait said in February that revenue losses of the Suez Canal could be absorbed by last year’s record-breaking returns of $9.4 billion, equivalent to almost 2% of Egypt’s GDP.
He warned that prolonged tension in the Red Sea could extend revenue losses which may in turn lead to a drag on state finances, resulting from fluctuations in the exchange rate against the dollar.
The Red Sea crisis, this week claimed its second shipping casualty as MV Tutor (pictured above), a bulker with a capacity of 82357 dwt, sank overnight on June 18 to 19, off the Eritrean coast. It was struck on June 12 north of theBab el-Mandeb, killing one engineer. The remaining 21 crew members were evacuated by American and French forces.
