Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Chairman Admiral Osama Rabie said revenues of the canal recorded a notable rise as it reached dlrs 1.5 billion over the months of January and February of this year compared with dlrs 1.1 billion during the same period of the previous year, recording a 41.6 percent increase worth dlrs 454.6 million.
Rabie’s remarks were made during a ceremony held on Tuesday 7/3/2023 to mark Port Said Naval arsenal launching new naval units as part of SCA’s strategy to modernize its naval fleet. A number of navigation agencies, members of the SCA board as well as members of the SCA labor union attended the ceremony.
According to a statement released by SCA, Admiral Rabie witnessed the hoisting of Egypt’s flag on two tugs named “Mohamed Bashir” and “Nabil El Helali” which was granted as a gift to SCA from EverGreen company as part of a settlement on the due compensation to the authority over the company’s ship that blocked the canal course for six days in 2021.
Admiral Rabie also witnessed the launching of two tugs named “Mohamed Negm” and “Mohamed El Ghamry” who were built in cooperation between Port Said Arsenal and Port Said Company for Naval Construction and Port Tawfiq Naval Arsenal. The two tugs have a bullard pull strength of 75 tons.
The SCA chief also witnessed the launching of three ferryboats “Port Tawfiq 1”, “Port Tawfiq 2” and “Port Tawfiq 3” which joined service to present passage services to individuals and vehicles willing to cross to the other side of the canal.
In statements during the ceremony, Rabie asserted that SCA has made a great leap in the development of the naval arsenal of SCA over the past few years, thanks to the great interest of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to upgrade the level of the naval services offered to ships crossing the Suez Canal.
He also highlighted President Sisi’s remarks on the necessity of localizing the industry of building naval units in the naval arsenals and SCA affiliated companies to maximize the benefits of its assets.
He also cited navigation statistics which recorded a notable increase in the number of passing ships, noting that 4,117 ships crossed the canal over the months of January and February, with a rise of 630 ships compared to the same period of the past year.
Rabie noted that the passing ships’ total load recorded 237.3 million tons over the months of January and February compared with total tonnage of 206.3 million, a growth of 15 percent compared with the same period of the past year.
Source: State Information Service Egypt