Suez Canal Chief expects traffic recovery to start by end-March

EGYPT : Suez Canal Authority Chief Osama Rabie said he expects traffic through the Egyptian waterway to gradually return to normal by late March and fully recover by mid-year, as long as the Gaza ceasefire holds up. 

Yemen’s Houthis said they’d stop targeting US and UK ships in response to the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas. Shipping companies, however, indicated it was still too early to plan a return. Currently, no more than 32 ships a day pass through the canal, a key source of hard currency for Egypt, Rabie said in a phone interview with Egyptian television. That compares with 75 vessels before the war in Gaza that began on Oct. 7, 2023. Supertankers still don’t transit the canal, he said.

Revenue from the Suez Canal, one of the world’s major trade routes, dropped by around 60% due to the war, and losses will be around $7 billion in the current financial year ending in June, he said.  

A return to normal would be welcome news for Egypt as it looks to emerge from its worst economic crisis in decades. Authorities allowed the currency to weaken about 40% last March, securing fresh assistance from the International Monetary Fund and others as part of a $57 billion global bailout.