Suez Canal revenues hit a record high

A ship is seen after passing through the Suez Canal in Ismailia, Egypt. (Reuters)

• Net shipping loads passing through the canal gained 3.8 percent during the first half of this year

CAIRO: Egypt’S Suez Canal recorded the highest annual revenue in its history in the year ending June 2021 despite the grounding of the Ever Given container ship in March.
Revenues rose to $5.84 billion, compared to $5.72 billion in the year-earlier period, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a filing.
Some 9763 ships navigated through the key waterway from January to June 2021, compared to 9546 ships during the same period last year, said SCA Chairman, Osama Rabie.
Net shipping loads passing through the canal gained 3.8 percent during the first half of this year — amounting to 610.1 million tons, compared to 587.7 million tons during the same period last year, he said. The number of liquefied natural gas carriers passing through the waterway increased by 24 percent, container ships rose by 9.7 percent, the number of car carriers increased by 27.8 percent, and dry bulk vessels rose by 5 percent.
“The flexible marketing and pricing policies pursued by the authority succeeded in maintaining the rates of ships crossing the canal and gaining the confidence of customers,” said Rabie.
The Ever Given container ship became wedged in the waterway in March for almost a week, halting all traffic in either direction and causing global supply chain disruption.