The number of ships passing through Egypt’s Suez Canal decreased by 49 percent since the beginning of 2024, an Egyptian official said earlier this week.
The Suez Canal Authority chairman and managing director Admiral Ossama Rabiee said in a statement that the number of ships passing through the canal decreased from 25887 ships in the fiscal year 2022/2023 to 20148 ships in the fiscal year 2023/ 2024.
Egypt’s Suez Canal revenues also dropped compared to a year earlier, a victim of attacks on Red Sea shipping by Yemen’s Houthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced recently that revenue from the Suez Canal has decreased by 50-60 percent this year, due to escalating geopolitical tensions in the region.
Ossama Rabiee referred recently to the negative impact on global supply chains, and on the maritime and economic challenges by avoiding the region, and taking alternative routes away from the Suez Canal.
However, it is believed that “the Suez Canal will remain the first choice and that their return is inevitable to cross the canal once the situation in the region stabilizes.”
The Suez Canal is a vital artery for the global trade and one of the world’s most heavily used shipping lanes.
