Sinai Peninsula News

The international container terminal operating company headquartered in The Hague, APM Terminals said that it is working closely with the government of Egypt on the final pieces of the jigsaw that will ensure the success of Egypt Vision 2030 for Port Said East Port and the Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT).Once in place, it is set to regain its position as one of the most competitive ports in the South and East Mediterranean region, APM said in a press release.As part of Egypt Vision 2030, the Egyptian Government has made massive investments in infrastructure. On May 5, 2019, Egypt’s President, Mr. Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi inaugurated the Ismailia tunnel…

The cockpit voice recorder from EgyptAir flight MS804 has been retrieved by search teams in a breakthrough for investigators seeking to explain what caused the plane to crash into the sea killing all 66 people on board. The Airbus A320 plunged into the Mediterranean early on May 19 on its way from Paris to Cairo. Since then, search teams have worked against the clock to recover the two black box recorders crucial to explaining what went wrong, before they stop emitting signals in about a week.

France has agreed to sell two Mistral helicopter carriers to Egypt for 950 million euros ($1.06 billion) after their sale to Russia was canceled in August, French officials said on Wednesday. Cairo has sought to boost its military power in the face of a two-year insurgency based across the Suez Canal in the Sinai peninsula and fears the conflict in neighbouring Libya could spill over. Egypt's allies are also keen to burnish its image in a region beset by turmoil. "We unwound the contract we had with Russia, on good terms, respectful of Russia and not suffering any penalty for France," Hollande told reporters on his arrival at an EU summit in Brussels.

Two Mistrals were originally destined for Russia. France is in talks to sell two Mistral helicopter carriers to Egypt after their sale to Russia was cancelled earlier this month, two sources close to the matter said on Wednesday. Cairo has sought to boost its military power in the face of a two-year-old insurgency based across the Suez Canal in the Sinai peninsula and fears the crisis in neighbouring Libya could spill over. Egypt's allies are also keen to burnish its image in a region beset by turmoil. A sale would also fit into France's recent strategy of favouring predominantly Sunni Arab nations, both politically and commercially, over their Shi'ite rival Iran.

Egypt staged a show of international support on Thursday as it inaugurated a major extension of the Suez Canal which President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hopes will power an economic turnaround in the Arab world's most populous country. The former armed forces chief, who led a military takeover two years ago but ran for president as a civilian last year, told a ceremony attended by leaders of France, Russia, Arab and African states that Egypt would defeat terrorism. The $8 billion New Suez Canal project was completed in just one year instead of three on Sisi's orders…

Egypt will open an expansion to the Suez Canal to great fanfare on Thursday, the centrepiece of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's plans to revitalise the country's economy after years of damaging political turmoil. Some analysts and economists say, however, that the mega-project may fail to meet the great expectations. The Suez extension was announced by Sisi a year ago and billed as a major national accomplishment on a par with President Gamal Abdel Nasser's nationalisation of the Suez Canal in 1956 and the building of the Aswan Dam.

The first cargo ships passed through Egypt's New Suez Canal on Saturday in a test-run before it opens next month, state media reported, 11 months after the army began constructing the $8 billion canal alongside the existing 145-year-old Suez Canal. The new waterway, which President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hopes will help expand trade along the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia and give a boost to Egypt's economy, will be formally inaugurated on Aug. Sisi wants the canal to become a symbol of national pride and to help combat Egypt's double-digit unemployment. The old Suez Canal is already a vital source of hard currency for Egypt, which has seen tourism and foreign investment drain away in the years of turmoil since a 2011 uprising.

Egypt's Islamic State affiliate said on Thursday it fired a rocket at an Egyptian naval vessel in the Mediterranean Sea near the coast of Israel and the Gaza Strip. The militant group Sinai Province has focussed mainly on attacking Egyptian soldiers and police in the Sinai peninsula, killing hundreds since the army toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule. Photographs distributed online by the group appeared to show a rocket heading towards a ship and setting it ablaze on impact. Reuters could not verify the militants' version of events. The Egyptian military said in a statement that a coastguard launch had exchanged shots with "terrorist elements", causing the vessel to catch fire. It said there was no loss of life.

Gunmen in a fishing boat opened fire on an Egyptian naval launch which shot back, killing at least four of the attackers on Wednesday, security sources and state media said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assault in the Mediterranean north of the port of Damietta, near the Suez Canal. The military has faced attacks from Islamist militants based in the Sinai Peninsula further east, and smugglers also operate in the area. State-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported soldiers were wounded and a number of the gunmen had been arrested. The military was not available for comment. Two militant attacks in the Sinai Peninsula last month killed 33 security personnel…

Egypt is pressing ahead with plans to develop a new wheat storage facility and expand port operations at two terminals in the Suez area as the country looks to bolster strategic food reserves and attract investment, a top port official said. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who as armed forces chief toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi last July following mass protests, was sworn in on Sunday and seeks to fix Egypt's economy while overcoming political divisions after a long period of turmoil and bloodshed.

Egypt has transferred the assets of the Al-Arish port in the Sinai Peninsula from a civilian-run agency to the armed forces, citing national security reasons in an area where militant attacks have increased in the past year. The decision was made last week by then-interim President Adly Mansour but only announced on Monday, a day after former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi - who ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi last July - was sworn in as the new head of state. The move seemed likely to reinforce critics' concern that Egypt is returning to strongman rule three years after a popular uprising raised hopes of democracy free from military influence.

Fifteen tonnes of a material used to make explosives have been seized in a town straddling the Suez Canal, the Egyptian army said on Wednesday, one of the biggest such hauls since the start of a campaign against Islamist militants in the nearby Sinai. Five tonnes of the material were seized in a truck in Al Qantara East on the eastern bank of the canal, leading to a second seizure of 10 tonnes of the same material held in storage at an undisclosed location in Al Qantara West, on the opposite bank. In a short statement, the army said the truck was being driven by two men from the town of El-Arish, which borders the Palestinian Gaza Strip at the eastern edge of the Sinai Peninsula. The army gave no further details.

In light of the recent shipping vessel attack on the Suez Canal (Suez Canal Authority, August 31st, 2013), Nexus Consulting is announcing the release of recommendations for merchant vessels traveling through the canal. The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has noted that an attack on a commercial container ship (Cosco Asia) occurred on August 31, 2013, on the eastern side of the canal at El-Sharqiya (map attached) as the ship was transiting northbound. The ship has since cleared the…

Lockheed Martin will provide the Arab Republic of Egypt with a fully integrated maritime search and rescue (SAR) system for the Gulf of Suez (GOS) under a $50 million contract signed today in Cairo. The SAR system will complement the Gulf of Suez Vessel Traffic Information Management System (VTIMS) provided by Lockheed Martin under a 1998 contract and provide the Egyptian Ministry of Transport with all the necessary capabilities to manage and respond to any maritime distress in the Gulf of Suez. The SAR contract was signed in the presence of the Prime Minister of Egypt, His Excellency Dr. Atef Ebaid; the Minister of Transportation, His Excellency Dr. Ibrahim El-Demairi; U.S. Ambassador C.