The Canal has been keen to offer discounts and incentives to encourage container ships to transit.
We continue to open direct lines of communication with shipping lines to discuss developments and listen carefully to their proposals.
Admiral Osama Rabie, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority SCA participated yesterday, Saturday, in the main symposium of the Egyptian Maritime Association, titled “Challenges Facing the Suez Canal in Light of Regional and Global Changes.”
Symposium participants
The symposium was attended by Dr. Abdel Aziz Qansouh, President of Alexandria University; Major General Samir Farag, Military Strategic Expert; Rear Admiral Essam Badawi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Maritime Association; and international lawyer Khaled Abu Bakr, Advisor to the Chairman of the Authority for Legal Affairs and International Relations. A number of consuls from Arab and foreign countries, as well as bodies and companies concerned with maritime transport, also participated.
Related : Rabie discusses the return of shipping lines to the canal
Unprecedented security tensions in the Red Sea
At the beginning of his speech, Admiral Osama Rabie emphasized that the unprecedented security tensions in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait have negatively impacted navigation rates through the Canal, forcing many shipping lines to change their course and detour around the Cape of Good Hope.
Impact has extended to the entire maritime industry,
He noted that this impact has extended to the entire maritime transport industry, which has been adversely affected by increased sailing times, higher operational costs, and a negative impact on inflation rates for the end consumer.
Flexibly responding to the crisis
Rabie explained that the Suez Canal Authority SCA has been flexibly responding to the crisis through direct and effective communication with shipping lines to discuss the possibility of evaluating their sailing schedules and considering the possibility of gradually resuming the transit of some of their vessels through the region. He emphasized that the security situation has become favorable for the gradual return of ships to sailing through the Suez Canal.
Offering incentives and 15% discounts for container ships
The Chairman of SCA added that the Suez Canal Authority responded to requests from several shipping lines by offering incentives and 15% discounts for container ships with a capacity exceeding 130,000 tons for a period of three months. This is aimed at sharing the burden with shipping lines and encouraging them to include the Suez Canal in their sailing schedules.
The Chairman of SCA also emphasized that the Red Sea crisis has proven beyond doubt that the Suez Canal is indispensable, achieving the difficult equation of saving time, cost, and maritime and logistical services—critical elements that the Cape of Good Hope route lacks.
Admiral Rabie highlighted the Authority’s commitment to continuing its strategy to develop the Suez Canal’s navigational channel despite successive crises.
The Authority successfully completed the two parts of the southern sector development project, which contributed effectively to increasing navigational safety and security rates, reducing the impact of water currents on transiting vessels, and increasing the Canal’s capacity by an average of 6-8 vessels.
This is in parallel with continuing to provide and develop its navigational and maritime services and completing the ambitious strategy to modernize the maritime fleet by adding several new and advanced units across all sectors.
Rabie continued that the Authority has been working to diversify its sources of income by providing a package of new navigational and logistical services, including maritime rescue, maritime ambulance, pollution control, ship maintenance and repair, fueling services, and crew replacement services. The Authority has also launched a new service to collect and remove solid waste from vessels transiting the Suez Canal, using the latest specialized marine vessels.
Plan to localize maritime industries
Admiral Rabie also emphasized that the Suez Canal Authority is moving forward with an ambitious plan to localize maritime industries, aiming to meet domestic market needs and open up export markets. This is achieved through the Egyptian Locomotive Factory, one of the fruits of the partnership between the Suez Canal Authority and the South Red Sea Arsenal Company, a national company.
Stabilizing global supply chains
On the other hand Major General Samir Farag, a strategic expert, explained that the Egyptian state chose the right approach in dealing with the security unrest in the Red Sea by not getting involved in the events. This has strengthened confidence in the Suez Canal as a neutral international waterway, playing a fundamental role in stabilizing global supply chains and shipping costs, which in turn impact the prices of various goods. He emphasized the strategic importance of the canal as one of the most important sources of foreign currency for the Egyptian treasury.
Important international waterway for global trade
Major General Samir Farag added that despite some countries’ attempts to revive trade routes and create new ones, the Suez Canal will remain the most important international waterway for global trade. This is reflected in the eagerness of shipping lines to quickly return to transiting the canal, thanks to the operational costs, speed, efficiency, and navigational safety that the Suez Canal offers compared to other maritime routes.
Related : SCA : New projects at Memory celebration of the Ever Given crisis
Suez Canal is an international waterway
For his part, international lawyer Khaled Abu Bakr, advisor to the Chairman of the Authority for Legal and International Affairs, emphasized that the Suez Canal is an international waterway subject to international agreements that render it neutral regarding political conflicts and various disputes, which gives the canal significant importance and the trust of its customers
Abu Bakr pointed out that the Authority’s systematic handling of successive crises is conclusive evidence of the efficiency of the Egyptian management of the canal, demonstrated in numerous situations, most notably the epic refloating of the giant container ship Ever Given, which demonstrated to the world that there is no alternative to the Suez Canal. It also demonstrated the competence of the Authority’s personnel in providing innovative solutions to the crisis, despite the inability of all specialized international bodies to resolve it.
Official Spokesperson for the Suez Canal Authority George Safwat stated
