Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, Admiral Ossama Rabiee, has called on the A.P. Møller – Mærsk Group to take the initiative and consider amending its navigation schedules to return gradually to transit through the Suez Canal.
He made the call during a meeting with a high-level delegation from the AP Møller – Mærsk Group, led by Camilla Jain Holtse, vice president, head of public policy & regulatory affairs.
Rabiee said there was an international and regional desire to reach fundamental solutions on the issue of freedom of navigation in the Red Sea region. “The current challenges in the region stress the importance of the Suez Canal to the sustainability of global supply chains and its direct impact on increasing operational costs and duration of voyages.”
The SCA has agreed to grant temporary incentives and toll reductions of 15% for container vessels with a net tonnage of 130 thousand tons or more in order to encourage the return of shipping lines to the crucial waterway.
He said that shipping lines had responded positively to the move.
Hotse affirmed the Group's commitment to returning to the Suez Canal. "We are monitoring developments moment by moment and assessing the changing dynamics,” she said.
It has welcomed the latest incentives and reductions, describing them as "a positive step".
“The Suez Canal will remain the Group’s first choice, and the latest positive indicators on stability in the region are considered a good step forward,” said Hany El Nady, the company’s representative in MENA.
