“The current situation in the Red Sea is witnessing positive indicators… and the circumstances are ripe for the return of maritime navigation in the Red Sea region once again,” said the Suez Canal authority after its meeting with representatives of 23 major shipping lines and agencies.
The 23 representatives, big clients of the Suez Canal authority, met yesterday with the chairman and managing director of the Suez Canal admiral Ossama Rabiee at the SCA’s headquarters, Al-Irshad building, at the city of Ismailia.
In his speech, Rabiee has emphasized the SCA’s keenness on a direct and active communication with all its clients to hold discussions and exchange viewpoints on developments of the situation in the Red Sea and Bab El-Mandab region.
The SCA chairman has explained that the current situation in the Red Sea region is witnessing positive indicators, that show stability returning to the region, making it the perfect opportunity to take executive measures aimed at modifying navigational schedules to pave the way for the return of maritime navigation back to its normal course.
Rabiee has sent a message of reassurance to the maritime community that the circumstances are ripe for the return of maritime navigation in the Red Sea region once again, announcing the Suez Canal’s readiness to operate at full capacity to receive the various navigational services of major shipping lines. He has also expressed his understanding of the security concerns of the shipping companies and shipping lines and their keenness on maintaining the navigational safety of vessels and crew.
On his part, Bahaa Badr, chairman Arabian Gulf Marine Trading Co. (agent of Evergreen Line), expressed his appreciation of the efforts exerted by the authority whether in terms of developing the navigational waterway of the Canal or introducing a new package of navigational and logistical services, which shall have a positive impact on encouraging major shipping lines to transit through the Suez Canal.
Rear Admiral Ehab Elbanan, chairman of Clarksons Company, stressed the importance of ongoing communication with all shipping lines and actors in the maritime community. He also suggested studying the possibility of introducing temporary incentives to encourage vessels to transit through the Canal.
On his part, Hany El-Nady, Maersk Group representative in MENA, has affirmed the keenness of the Group on resuming transiting through the Suez Canal once more, and that it monitors closely the positive indicators of the situation in the Red Sea region as well as its readiness to resume transit through the Canal once again immediately upon the situation fully stabilizes.
Mamdouh Taha, CEO of COSCO Shipping Agency, confirmed that the return of major shipping lines to transiting through the Suez Canal once again is inevitable as the maritime community is looking forward to the persistence of stability in the region.
Tariq Zaghloul, CEO of CMA CGM Egypt and Sudan Cluster, has emphasized the strategic importance of the Suez Canal to the French group as a major strategic partner. “He has also expressed the shipping line’s anticipation of the persistence of stability in the Red Sea region to make the decision of bringing back all its various navigational services consecutively,” SCA said in its statement.
While Mr. Ehab Fathy, representative of the shipping line MSC, has touched on the maintenance and repair services provided by the SCA through its shipyards and affiliated companies, highlighting that Port Said Shipyard has received two of the Group’s vessels to execute maintenance and repair works.
Adel Ellameey, chairman of Port Said Chamber of Shipping, has stressed the importance of communicating with insurance companies so that they can reassess the region and classify it as a safe zone for transit, which would enable ships to resume transiting through the region once again.
Many other representatives from major shipping lines participated in the SCA’s meeting. The meeting has also witnessed a consensus on the necessity of holding these meetings periodically.
