Suez Canal Authority News

Suez Canal Rescue Teams Prevent Ship from Sinking

Suez Canal Authority rescue teams prevented Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship Labatros from sinking before passing through the waterway, the canal's authority said on Tuesday.The ship's 12 crew members were safe and work is currently underway to inspect the technical condition of the ship, the statement added.(Reuters - Reporting by Yousri Mohamed, Writing by Nayera Abdallah, Editing by Louise Heavens)

Egypt Studying Further Expansion of Suez Canal

Egypt is studying further expansions of the Suez Canal to extend and complete a second channel of the waterway, the canal's head said on Monday, a move that could allow for higher volumes of shipping and prevent blockages from halting traffic.The comments come as the canal is seeing a sharp fall in revenue due to shipping companies diverting away from the waterway, the shortest route between Europe and Asia, because of attacks by Houthi militants in Yemen against ships in the Red Sea.Any new extension would come on top of current work to extend the second channel by 10 kilometers, and to deepe

Suez Canal Authority Carries Out Repairs to Missile-hit Vessel

Egypt's Suez Canal Authority said on Monday it had conducted repair work on a missile-hit Greek dry-bulk carrier, highlighting its readiness to restore damaged ships passing through the Red Sea.The Malta-flagged, Greek-owned vessel Zografia had berthed at a floating dock of the authority-affiliated Suez Shipyard Company for repairs after the ship's hull and some components sustained external and internal damage in a Jan. 16 attack by Yemeni Houthi forces.The vessel was sailing…

Suez Canal Authority Monitoring Tensions in Red Sea

Egypt's Suez Canal Authority said on Sunday it was closely monitoring the impact of tensions in the Red Sea after recent attacks by Yemen's Houthis on vessels in the southern part of the basin.Two major freight firms, MSC and CMA CGM, said on Saturday they would avoid the Suez Canal as Houthi militants stepped up their assaults.The authority is "closely following the consequences of current tensions," the body's chairman, Osama Rabie, said in a statement. Maritime traffic in the canal was currently normal…

Containership Strikes Floating Bridge in the Suez Canal

A container ship collided with a floating bridge in the eastern lane of the Suez Canal on Wednesday but the passage of ships through the waterway was not interrupted, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said.Tugboats helped the One Orpheus after it suffered a fault with its rudder while transiting the canal on its way from Singapore to the Netherlands, the authority said in a statement.The incident occurred in the eastern lane of the middle section of the canal, built as an expansion that was completed in 2015.Convoys of ships coming from the south were diverted along the original branch of the can

Suez Canal Tugboat Sinks After Collision with Tanker

A Suez Canal tugboat sank on Saturday and one of its crew was missing after it collided with a Hong Kong-flagged LPG tanker though shipping traffic in the strategically important waterway was largely unaffected, the canal authority said.Convoys of ships passing through the canal from the north were not affected, while the passage of ships travelling from the south returned to normal by about midnight on Saturday, Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement.The tanker, Chinagas Legend…

Suez Canal Offers New Rebates for LNG Carriers

The Suez Canal Authority has announced rebates for LNG carriers effective from July 1, 2023.Circular no. (7/2017) concerning LNG carriers (laden/ballast) has been amended as follows:LNG carriers (laden/ballast) operating between the American Gulf (and ports south) and areas in Asia will be granted rebates:a) Arabian Gulf ports (ports within the Arabian Gulf starting from Sur port, Oman) and eastern ports up to Cochin in India will be granted a rebate of 30% off normal Suez Canal…

Suez Canal Authority to Sell 20% of Subsidiary in Experimental Offer

Egypt's Suez Canal Authority (SCA) is offering a 20% stake in a subsidiary company in line with a government drive to boost the private sector, but selling or leasing the canal is "out of question", SCA head Osama Rabie said on Wednesday.Rabie said the sale of the 20% stake in the Canal Company for Mooring and Lights on the Egyptian stock market was an experiment and indicated that there could be more stake sales in the future."In principle, we might continue doing this," he told a press conference.The Canal Company for Mooring and Lights…

Kongsberg to Design and Equip Suez Canal's New Salvage Tugs

Kongsberg Maritime announced it has won a contract to provide the design and equipment for two powerful salvage tugs being built by Alexandria Shipyard as main contractor on behalf of the Suez Canal Authority. The tugs will be based on Kongsberg Maritime’s UT 722 CDT Design.The UT 722 tugboat design has a length of 71.6 meters, bollard pull of approximately 200 tonnes, and it can operate independently for up to 35 days.Egypt’s Alexandria Shipyard successfully bid on this contract with the Suez Canal Authority in cooperation with Kongsberg Maritime…

Suez Canal Activity Resumes after Troubled Bulk Carrier Refloated

Tugboats refloated a large ship that had been stranded for several hours in the Suez Canal on Thursday, and sources said shipping traffic through one of the world's busiest waterways had returned to normal.Two canal sources said traffic was back to normal by around 11:00 am local time (0800 GMT), around six hours after the incident began and three-and-a-half hours after the vessel was refloated.Shipping agent Leth Agencies identified the ship as the 190 meter (623 foot) Xin Hai Tong 23…

Dredge Firms Focus on Sustainability as ESG Issues Climb Agenda

Climate change, rising sea levels, land reclamation and offshore energy are all factors underpinning business models at Europe’s dredge and marine engineering majors. They are adopting strong sustainability credentials as their operations come under closer environmental, social, governance (ESG) scrutiny and new opportunities open up in the US offshore wind sectorThe relatively small number of global marine engineering and dredge firms face more observation of their business models than ever before.

Containership Refloated After Breakdown in the Suez Canal

A containership that broke down in Egypt's Suez Canal on Sunday causing some traffic to be diverted has resumed its journey, the Canal Authority said.The authority said in an earlier statement that the MSC Istanbul, sailing under the flag of Liberia, became stranded while transiting the canal on its way from Malaysia to Portugal.Four tugboats had been working to move it, and traffic in the vital waterway had not been affected, the statement said."All the ships that are coming from the north have normally passed and navigation from the south also proceeded normally after the ships were diverted

ABS Signs On Suez Canal's Green Program

ABS and the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a long-term sustainability roadmap and decarbonization strategy for the canal, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.The MoU will see ABS and SCA work together on issues related to sustainability and the green environment as a part of the SCA’s business plan to transition to a green canal by 2030. Over the year-long agreement, ABS and the SCA will work together to develop a decarbonization…

Traffic in Suez Canal Normal After Ship Breakdown Dealt With

Shipping traffic in the Suez Canal was proceeding normally on Monday after tugs towed a cargo vessel that broke down during its passage through the waterway, the Canal Authority said.The breakdown was expected to cause only minor delays, with convoys of ships resuming regular transit by 11:00 local time (09:00 GMT), shipping agent Leth said.The M/V Glory, which was sailing to China, suffered a technical fault when it was 38km into its passage southward through the canal, before being towed by four tugs to a repair area…

Suez Canal Open to Foreign Investment, Sovereignty Protected

Egypt's Suez Canal welcomes foreign investment but foreigners would have no control over the waterway or over a proposed fund that would help to manage its resources, the head of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said on Thursday.SCA Chairman Osama Rabie was speaking to reporters after legal amendments providing for the fund were discussed in parliament this week, triggering speculation they would open the door to selling stakes in the canal to foreigners.The fund, under discussion for several years…

Suez Canal Authority to Raise Transit Fees by 15% in 2023

The Suez Canal Authority will raise fees for ships passing through the canal by 15% in 2023, SCA chairman and managing director Adm. Ossama Rabiee said on Saturday.Transit fees for dry bulk and cruise ships will be raised by 10%, Rabie added.The fee increase, which comes amid global inflation and generally improved charter rates for most vessel types, take effect January 1, 2023, Rabie said.

Tanker Refloated After Running Aground in the Suez Canal

Tug boats refloated an oil tanker that was briefly stranded in Egypt's Suez Canal late on Wednesday due to a technical fault with its rudder, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said.The vessel, Affinity V, had been blocking the southern section of the canal, two navigational sources said, but SCA sources said shortly after midnight local time that traffic had returned to normal.The incident occurred in the same southern, single-lane stretch of the canal where a giant cargo ship, the Ever Given, ran aground for six days in March 2021, disrupting global trade.According to ship monitoring service Tan

Suez Canal Increases Tolls for Laden Crude Oil Tankers

Egypt's Suez Canal Authority said on Tuesday it will temporarily increase a surcharge levied on laden crude oil tankers and petroleum products tankers transiting the canal in both directions to 15% of normal dues from 5%, effective May 1.It said that ballast crude oil tankers and petroleum products tankers transiting the Canal in both directions are still required to pay a surcharge of 5% of normal transit dues.The changes come "in line with the significant growth in global trade, the improvement of ships' economics, the Suez Canal waterway development and the enhancement of the transit servic

Suez Canal Authority Considers Floating Some Units

The Suez Canal Authority is considering listing shares of some of the companies it owns on Egypt's stock exchange, authority chairman Osama Rabie told CNBC Arabia on Tuesday.Rabie added that the authority expects to sell 20% stakes in two or three companies. He identified the companies Canal Rope, and Canal Harbor and Great Projects.(Reporting by Lilian Wagdy; Editing by Peter Graff)

Work to Widen Suez Canal is Underway

Egypt is working to improve the Suez Canal by making an additional 10 kilometers accessible to two-way traffic, while widening and deepening another 30 kilometers, the chairman of the authority managing the waterway said on Tuesday.Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie, giving the first news conference on the expansion which began in June, said it would be too expensive to widen the entire length of the waterway linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.However, the two-way portion would be lengthened to 85 kilometers (53 miles) from 75 kilometers…

Svitzer to Deploy Two More Tugs in the Suez Canal

Maersk's towage arm Svitzer announced another extension of its current contract with the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) to include two additional tugs to service the vital trade artery.Turkish tugboat builder Med Marine will deliver the two new vessels, both RAstar 2800 75tonnes bollard pull tugs with firefighting capabilities and escort notation, designed by Robert Allan Ltd.Svitzer started operating in the Suez Canal in late 2019 with the two tugs Svitzer Port Said 1 and Svitzer Port Said 2, providing towage services to the SCA out of Port Said.

Suez Canal Expansion Due to Complete in July 2023

A project to expand parts of the Suez Canal is expected to be completed after two years of work in July 2023, the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said on Sunday.The SCA announced accelerated plans to extend a second channel of the canal and to enlarge an existing channel after the Ever Given container ship ran aground and blocked the waterway for six days last year."The project will be completed in 24 months. We started in July 2021 and God willing we will finish in July 2023…

Suez Canal to Increase Tolls By Up to 10%

Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority said on Sunday it was increasing canal tolls by up to 10% for laden and ballast vessels, effective March 1.The decision was “in line with the significant growth in global trade, the improvement of ships’ economics, the Suez Canal waterway development and the enhancement of the transit service”, according to a series of circulars by the canal authority.(Reuters - Reporting by Ahmad Elhamy and Moaz Abd-Alaziz; Editing by Alison Williams)