298 ships traverse Suez Canal in 1 week

The Suez Canal traffic data reported that 298 ships traverse the Suez Canal with a total cargo load of 18.4m tonnes from 26 February to 3 March 2016.

An average of 42.6 ships traversed the canal per day, with an average cargo load of 2.63m tonnes.

The average cargo load per ship was 61,700 tonnes during the week.

In July 2015, the month prior to the inauguration of the Suez Canal, an average of 47 ships traversed the canal daily, with an average cargo load of 2.758m tonnes per day.

A large container ship from Malta – named Al Nefud – was the largest ship to traverse the canal last week with a cargo load of 200,607 tonnes.

The Suez Canal traffic data recorded 155 ships that traversed the canal to the west by entering from the Port Said entrance in the North, with a daily average of 22.1 ships. The total cargo load of ships travelling in this direction was recorded at 9.4m tonnes, with a daily average of 1.34m tones.

There were 143 ships recorded traversing the canal to the east, entering the canal from the southern entrance, with a daily average of 20.4 ships. The total cargo load of ships travelling in this direction was recorded at 9m tonnes, with a daily average of 1.28m tonnes.

Cargo load is the main measure of shipping traffic in the Suez Canal, on which fees for the transit are calculated.

In 2015, revenue generated from the Suez Canal declined to $5.175bn, compared to revenue of $5.465bn the year before, a decline of $290m, due to an increase in the value of the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) against the US dollar and a general slowdown in the global economy.

SDRs are supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets defined and maintained by the International Monetary Fund. The Suez Canal Authority collects revenues in SDRs to guard against fluctuations in the international market.

Recent reports have revealed that, due to the global drop in oil prices, many container ships have been choosing to circumvent the Suez Canal route and take the longer route, to avoid paying the canal’s transit fees. According to the BBC, over 100 ships have avoided the Suez Canal since October.

The continuation of this trend could hamper the larger planned Suez Canal Area Development project, which aims to leverage the canal’s transit fees by turning the Suez Gulf into a transportation and logistics hub.

The following table illustrating traffic in the Suez Canal between 26 February and 3 March, 2016.