Shipping numbers through the Suez Canal have been down by more than 50 per cent since the start of Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea, Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), stated on Thursday.
“Currently, 35 ships pass through the canal daily, compared to 75 to 80 before the crisis began,” Rabie said, referring to the impact of Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea in protest against the outbreak of the war on Gaza in October 2023.
The Suez Canal is one of Egypt’s main hard currency earners. Lower traffic has impacted its earnings. In 2024, the canal brought in $4 billion, down from a high of around $10 billion in 2023.
Speaking during a ceremony held by the SCA to mark the 69th anniversary of the nationalisation of the canal, Rabie called upon insurance companies to reduce the premiums paid for ships passing through the Red Sea and for all shipping lines to transit the Suez Canal.
He said that insurance costs have tripled or quadrupled since January 2024, making transit through the Suez Canal more expensive than circumnavigating Africa via the Cape of Good Hope. The canal is indispensable to global trade, he said, accommodating 12 per cent of global trade and four million barrels of oil daily.
The highest number of ships passing through the canal was in 2023, when 26,434 ships passed through. Then came the Red Sea crisis, bringing the number down to 13,213.
During the anniversary event Samir Farag, a strategic expert, emphasised that despite the challenges, Egypt remains committed to the Constantinople Convention, which guarantees all ships the right of passage through the canal in times of war with no restrictions.
He said that this is not the first time that the canal has faced challenges in his presentation at the event, highlighting the strategic importance of the canal across successive generations.
Since its inauguration in 1869, the canal has been closed three times: during the Tripartite Aggression against Egypt in 1956; after the 1967 War; and until the 1973 War. The waterway was eventually cleared by removing obstructions and sunken vessels in April 1974 with the participation of naval forces.
President Anwar Al-Sadat reopened the canal on 5 June 1975.
Rabie explained that since the nationalisation of the canal, it has recorded revenues of $153.4 billion and seen the passage of approximately 1.1 million ships, with a total net tonnage of 33 billion tons.
“The nationalisation of the canal in 1956 restored Egypt’s full national sovereignty over this vital economic artery,” Rabie said. The 69th anniversary celebration also coincided with the 10th anniversary of the opening of the New Suez Canal, which led to the most significant development of the waterway since its building, with the deepening of the waterway to 72 km with a capacity of up to 101 ships.
Rabie pointed to the services provided to customers of the canal such as ship maintenance, maritime rescue, pollution control, and fueling services. In addition, the SCA can provide crew replacement and training services, as it houses a large maritime training and simulation academy and the Academy of Creativity and Excellence for sailors.
The SCA is working to localise the shipbuilding and marine unit industry, he said, pointing to the possibility of implementing projects in Africa and the Arab world.
Since nationalisation, the Egyptian government has succeeded in developing the canal’s navigational facilities by implementing numerous development projects to keep pace with rapid developments in the global shipping industry, Rabie added.
The canal’s draft has increased from 10 metres to 22, and the tonnage of ships transiting the Canal has increased from 30,000 tons in 1956 to 240,000 tons currently.
The length of the canal’s dual carriageways has increased from 27.7 km to 99, allowing ship-transit times of 20 to 30 minutes. Rabie pointed out that this has contributed to reducing carbon emissions.
“We are saving three million tons of carbon emissions and 24 tons of fuel, with the goal of having a green Suez Canal by 2030,” he said.
The SCA’s vehicles have been converted to natural gas, reducing fuel consumption by 70 per cent, and waste is safely disposed of, resulting in a 10-ton reduction in fuel consumption, Rabie said. Some 692 naval units have been added since the July 26 Revolution, including 113 added since 2019.
In addition, the SCA is developing additional ship maintenance services, increasing the number of canal tugs, and developing docks for ship repair and construction, along with providing logistics services, to diversify and maximise sources of income.
Thursday’s celebration included the inauguration of the July 26 Water Plant in the Ismailia governorate, with a production capacity of 180,000 cubic metres of fresh water, sufficient for the needs of Ismailia until 2037.
It also included the inauguration of three floating bridges as part of plans to connect Sinai to the Nile Valley, including Lieutenant Colonel Amir Ibrahim Awadallah Bridge, and the extension of two floating bridges over the New Suez Canal, namely Colonel Islam Abul-Makarem Bridge and Islam Mohamed Al-Sayed Bridge.
The celebration also included the announcement of the addition of new marine units to the SCA fleet.
Rabie emphasised that “the Suez Canal is an international canal, dug by Egyptian hands and managed by Egyptians in accordance with international conventions. It is subject to and operates to serve the movement of global trade, based on its being the shortest sea route linking the East and the West and the safest of all competing trade routes.”
* A version of this article appears in print in the 7 August, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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