By Mohamed Ahmed
New data from the Suez Canal has revealed that a total 336 ships transited the canal last week, carrying a total cargo of 19.5m tonnes.
The average number of ships transiting the canal daily reached 48 throughout last week, with average cargos amounting to 2.8m tonnes per day, whereas the average cargo per ship reached 58,000 tonnes.
The largest cargo held within one ship transiting Suez Canal last week reached 200,000 tonnes. A total of five other separate container ships belonging to Danish company, Maersk, carried the same tonnage. The tonnage of cargo is the main criterion in calculating the growth of marine traffic in the Suez Canal, where transit fees are calculated according to cargo size.
The number of ships transiting the canal from the northern direction reached 147 ships, representing a daily average of 21 ships, totalling 8.1m tonnes in cargo, or a daily average of 1.2m tonnes.
The number of ships that transited the canal from the southern direction reached almost 189 ships, or a daily average of 27 ships. This amounted to a total cargo of 11.4m tonnes over the week, with a daily average of 1.6m tonnes.
A table illustrating marine traffic through the Suez Canal during 12-18 September (cargo in million tonnes):
| North | South | |||||
| Day | Daily number of ships | Daily number of tonnes | Daily number of ships | Daily number of tonnes | Total cargo | Total number of ships |
| Saturday | 20 | 1.2 | 37 | 2.1 | 57 | 3.3 |
| Sunday | 22 | 1.3 | 27 | 1.6 | 49 | 2.9 |
| Monday | 20 | 1 | 22 | 1.2 | 42 | 2.2 |
| Tuesday | 27 | 1.4 | 30 | 2 | 57 | 3.4 |
| Wednesday | 17 | 1 | 33 | 1.7 | 50 | 2.7 |
| Thursday | 17 | 1 | 20 | 1.5 | 37 | 2.5 |
| Friday | 24 | 1.2 | 20 | 1.3 | 44 | 2.5 |
| Total | 147 | 8.1 | 189 | 11.4 | 336 | 19.5 |
| Average | 21 | 1.2 | 27 | 1.6 | 48 | 2.8 |
