SCA announces new Suez Canal mooring regulations and costs

CAIRO : The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has announced new Circular No. 1-2024 about regulations and costs of mooring boats, mooring services, and lights during vessels’ transit through the artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt.

Effective from 1 May, the mooring service will be shore-based, with mooring boats distributed along the canal.

Only 30% of the ships in the convoy will have the mooring service onboard, while SCA will decide which vessels to have the onboard service based on the following criteria :

• Ships with the largest wind-age area.
• Ships with the largest Gross Tonnage (GT).
• Ships with the largest Draft.
• Inter-ship distances not exceeding two ships.
• Other vessels as decided by SCA.

If one of the selected ships refuses or is unable to have the mooring service onboard, there will be additional dues of US$5,000 instead of imposing a tugboat as stipulated in Article 20, page 36 of the SC Rules of Navigation.

The following types of vessels shall be excluded from the above shore-based mooring service:

• US warships will be escorted by a mandatory tugboat for mooring service according to the protocol signed with SCA.
• Other Warships will be escorted by imposed tugboats if they refuse or are unable to have the service onboard.
• Towed units, excavators, Rig, integrated units, and units of a special nature will have mooring service on board or escorted by imposed tugs if unable to have the service on board, as per current rules of navigation December 2020.

The new tariff for providing mooring and lighting services in the new system will be as follows:

• Any ship, whether having onboard or shore-based service, will pay a fixed total amount of US$3,500 for mooring and lighting services in the new system, with a financial assessment annually in case there is a need for amendments (as a special arrangement for ships).
• In case the ship requests to be supplied with lighting service or if the searchlight does not comply with the SC Rules of navigation (searchlight + electrician), an additional US$1,000 will be added to the previous tariff in item (1) for lighting services, making the total amount US$4,500, including mooring and lighting services.
• If the electric connections do not comply with SC Rules of Navigation, the vessel will be charged additional dues of US$5,000 from the second transit, as stipulated in SC Rules of Navigation, December 2020 edition.