Cairo: A total of 47 ships have opted to transit through the Suez Canal instead of navigating around the Cape of Good Hope since early February, as shipping lines adapt to increasing signs of stability in the Red Sea.

According to State Information Service Egypt, this shift is expected to persist, with more vessels likely to favor the canal in the coming weeks as regional security conditions continue to improve.

Osama Rabie, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), highlighted at the 14th International Maritime Transport and Logistics Conference (MARLOG 14) that the Red Sea crisis has posed significant security challenges, disrupting global supply chains and raising costs for shipping companies. He emphasized the importance of international cooperation to mitigate the crisis’s impact and ensure the smooth flow of maritime trade.

The Suez Canal Authority has enacted several strategic measures to support shipping companies and lessen the crisis’s effects, Rabie noted. These initiatives include maintaining stable pricing policies to provide operators with cost predictability, enhancing direct communication with shipping lines to address concerns, and introducing new marine and logistics services. These services encompass ship maintenance, marine rescue, pollution control, medical evacuation, crew changes, and refueling.

Rabie stated that these measures have reassured global shipping companies, contributing to the preference for the Suez Canal as a trade route. Despite ongoing challenges, the Suez Canal Authority remains committed to its development plans under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s leadership. The southern sector expansion project has been completed and is fully operational, offering benefits such as enhanced navigational safety, reduced impact of water currents, and increased capacity to accommodate additional vessels.

The SCA chairman expressed confidence that as regional stability improves, more shipping companies will choose the Suez Canal over longer and more costly alternative routes. He noted that while security concerns, insurance costs, and supply chain disruptions initially led many companies to divert their vessels, recent developments indicate a gradual return to the Suez Canal.