Suez Canal dues for transiting ships set to rise

The Suez Canal Authority has decided to increase canal dues by six per cent for the year 2022, except for LNG carriers and cruise ships.

As informed, the planned increase will be applied at the beginning of February 2022.

This was unveiled by Admiral Osama Rabie, Chairman of Suez Canal Authority, at a press conference on 4 November.

Cruise ships and LNG carriers will be excluded from the increase and their tolls will remain the same as in 2021.

When it comes to LNG vessels, the chairman explained that the decision comes in the light of the continuous follow-up to the most recent variables of the LNG seaborne trade in a way that integrates with the development of flexible marketing policies where the reduction percentage granted to LNG tankers has been modified from 25% to 15% as per the amendment of circular No. (2) of 2015 planned to be applied by November.

Rabie added that the transit fees fixation for cruise vessels transiting the canal is mainly due to the fact that this type of vessels was the most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic crisis compared to other vessel types. The tourism and travel sector has suffered major losses worldwide, including cruise ships and sea yachts, and are expected to complete its recovery by 2022.