CAIRO — Egypt’s income from the Suez Canal plunged by virtually two thirds final 12 months, officers stated Wednesday, attributing the sharp drop to regional tensions and wars within the Center East which have impacted visitors via the important thing waterway.
The canal is a significant supply of overseas foreign money for the Egyptian authorities, with about 10% of world commerce flowing via the waterway in recent times.
The Suez Canal Authority, which runs the waterway, stated the canal generated an annual income of $3.991 billion in 2024, down from a historic excessive of $10.25 billion in 2023, in accordance with an announcement posted on its Fb web page.
Canal visitors has been considerably disrupted after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels began to threaten maritime commerce and focusing on vessels heading to Israel via the Suez Canal to stress Israel to cease the battle in Gaza, which began on Oct. 7, 2023.
Between November 2023 and January 2024, the Houthis focused over 100 service provider vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two ships and killing 4 sailors. The rebels insisted the assaults would proceed so long as the wars go on and have devastated delivery via the area.
In response to the Egyptian canal authority, solely 13,213 ships handed via the canal in 2024, marking a 50% decline in comparison with the variety of ships in 2023, when over 26,000 ships handed via.
Nonetheless, canal authority chief Osama Rabie stated that the assaults problem the area however haven’t prevented Egypt from persevering with to offer its navigational and maritime providers within the Suez.
The Worldwide Financial Fund reported in March 2024 that the Suez Canal commerce dropped by 50% within the first two months of that 12 months, in comparison with the earlier 12 months, citing assaults on vessels within the Pink Sea.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s authorities in 2015 accomplished a major enlargement of the Suez Canal, including a second delivery lane and permitting it to deal with a number of the world’s largest vessels.
The canal, which connects the Mediterranean and the Pink seas, was opened in 1869. It serves as a significant artery for international commerce — a vital hyperlink for oil, pure fuel and cargo. The canal authority operates a system of convoys, consisting of 1 northbound and one southbound per day.
