Raising the Suez Canal transit fees .. Egypt enters the line of "high oil price"

At a time when the world is witnessing a noticeable rise in oil prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Egyptian Suez Canal Authority decided to impose additional transit fees on “various categories of ships transiting” in the two directions of the navigation course, ranging between 5 and 10%, especially gas and oil tankers.

The authority will begin, according to a statement, "as of today (Tuesday) to apply new additional fees for various categories of ships transiting the canal, ranging from 5 to 10% of transit fees, according to a set of navigational publications."

The authority added that this increase is subject to "continuous evaluation and the possibility of adjusting the rates or terminating them in accordance with the changes taking place in the maritime transport market."

Among the ships covered by the new increase, according to navigational publications on the authority’s official website, are petroleum gas tankers, which will see an additional fee of 10% when transiting.

The increase also includes imposing a fee of 7% on liquefied natural gas tankers and general cargo ships in transit, and 5% on tankers of petroleum derivatives.

The Russian military attack against Ukraine led to a rise in global oil prices, to exceed the price of a barrel of crude oil at $100 for the first time since 2014.

Osama Rabie, head of the Canal Authority, said in a statement on Tuesday that "the performance rates in the Suez Canal clearly reflect the recovery witnessed by the maritime transport market, and the remarkable growth in the global trade movement."

He pointed out that "the adoption of flexible pricing and marketing mechanisms that include incentives and discounts in cases of recession or appropriate and carefully studied pricing controls that take into account the achievement of common interests in times of recovery and growth of global trade."

Prior to Tuesday’s decision, the authority had started, since last month, to implement a 6% increase in fees for ships transiting the navigational waterway, with the exception of cruise ships and liquefied gas tankers from the decision.

The Suez Canal is one of the main sources of foreign exchange for Egypt, and in 2021, according to official data, it achieved a 13% increase in its annual revenues compared to the previous year, with revenues of $6.3 billion.

The Suez Canal, which links the Red Sea and the Mediterranean and was opened in 1869, secures the transit of 10% of the international maritime trade.

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