292 ships transit Suez Canal with 16.2m tonnes in 6 days

Suez Canal traffic data indicated that 292 ships transited the canal, with a total load of 16.7m tonnes, from 9 to 14 April 2016.

An average of 48.7 ships transited the canal per day during that period, with an average load of 2.3m tonnes per day. The average load per ship was about 57,200 tonnes during that period.

Compared to July 2015, prior to the inauguration of the New Suez Canal, the average daily number of transiting vessels totalled 47 vessels, with an average load of 2.758m tonnes per day.

The number of vessels that passed through the new channel from the west through the northern entrance was 139 vessels, with a daily average of 23.16 vessels, and a total load of 9.1m tonnes, recording a daily average of 2.41m tonnes.

Meanwhile, 153 transited the canal from the south, with a daily average of 25.5 vessels, and a total load of 8.9m tonnes, recording a daily average of 4.48m tonnes.

Cargo load is the main measure of shipping traffic in the Suez Canal and the calculated transit fees.

Last February, Suez Canal revenues rose to $401.4m, compared to revenues of $382m in the same month last year, marking an increase of 5.08%.

February saw the crossing of 1,300 ships in total, carrying 77.716m tonnes of cargo compared to about 1,219 ships with a tonnage of 73.021m tonnes the previous year.

The following table shows traffic through the Suez Canal between from 9 to 14 April 2016: