Egypt to raise Suez Canal transit fees by 5-15 pct in 2024

File photo of Penang Port. Transshipment costs shot up significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war and the latest announcement from Egypt could raise the operator’s revenue up but may end up raising the prices for end users of goods and commodities.

CAIRO, Oct 17 (Bernama-Xinhua) — Egypt plans to raise transit fees for ships passing through the Suez Canal by 5 to 15 per cent starting on Jan 15, 2024, according to a statement released by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) on Monday, reported Xinhua.

Transit fees for crude oil tankers, petroleum product tankers, liquified petroleum gas carriers, liquefied natural gas carriers, chemical tankers and other liquid bulk tankers, containerships, vehicles carriers, cruise ships, and special floating units will rise by 15 per cent, it said.

Meanwhile, transit fees for dry bulk vessels, general cargo vessels, and roll-on/roll-off vessels will increase by five per cent, according to the statement.

It added that the new transit fee increases did not apply to containerships departing from ports in northwestern Europe and sailing directly to ports in the Far East.

The SCA’s statistics showed that the canal’s revenues hit US$9.4 billion in the fiscal Year 2022-2023 which ended in June, up from US$7 billion in the previous fiscal Year.

–BERNAMA