SIMIC

THE Suez Canal Authority (SCA) is gearing up to normal operations now that Yemen's Houthi insurgents have agreed to a limited ceasefire, reports the Egypt State Information Service.

The Suez announcement came during a meeting between Osama Rabie, chairman of the SCA, and Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO).



They discussed the necessary measures to enable the resumption of maritime traffic through the canal.



Mr Rabie explained that the resumed activity follows the restoration of stability in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab regions, adding that this development aligns with efforts to ensure the smooth functioning of global trade routes.



Due to tensions in the Red Sea that caused rerouting of shipping, the number of vessels passing through the canal dropped by 51 per cent during the first quarter of the 2024/2025 fiscal year compared to the same period in the previous year.



Suez Canal transit revenues also declined sharply by 61.2 per cent to US$931.2 million in Q1 FY 2024/2025, down from $2.4 billion during the same period last year.



In 2024, Egypt's Suez Canal revenues plummeted to $4 billion, a 60.7 per cent decrease from $10.2 billion in 2023. The number of ships transiting the canal annually dropped 50 percent, from 26,400 in 2023 to 13,200 in 2024. Daily traffic fell from 75-80 to 32-35 ships during the same period.



Mr Rabie confirmed that the canal has already begun receiving vessels from the CMA CGM shipping line as part of its EPIC service on the trade route between South Asia and Europe.