Maritime traffic along the Suez Canal has not been affected by the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Chairperson Osama Rabie.
In a statement on Monday, Rabie also said that there has been a 2% rise in revenues from the Suez Canal in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020.
He added that the canal’s maritime traffic rose by 9.6% as 1,731 vessels passed through the waterway in both directions during April 2020, up from 1,580 in the same period last year. The traffic grew 8.7% in the first four months of 2020, with 6,563 vessels passing through, up from 6,038 ships in 2019.
Rabie added that the canal’s navigation traffic is regular, proceeding at the normal rates according to ship frequency and tonnage. The net tonnage rose by 3.6% in April 2020, reaching 101.8 million tonnes, compared to the 98.3 million tonnes recorded in April 2019.
In the statement, Rabie highlighted that the Suez Canal’s revenues rose to $1.907bn in the first third of 2020, an increase on the $1.869bn in the corresponding period of 2019.
He pointed out that transit tonnage at the canal jumped 7.3% in Q1 of 2020, reporting 408.6 million tonnes, up from 380.9 million tonnes reported in 2019.
In recent months, Egypt has stressed that traffic through the Suez Canal has not been affected by the coronavirus, with shipping proceeding at normal rates.
