The Suez Canal Authority published traffic figures for the
canal in 2020 highlighting what they called their successful crisis management
and marketing to maintain traffic and performance despite the global impact of
COVID-19. The Authority also announced that they would maintain their tariffs
and incentives for 2021.
The Suez Canal Authority achieved its second highest annual
tonnage figures in 2020, falling only behind the records of 2019, while also
recording the third highest annual revenue in the history of the canal.
Lieutenant General Osama Rabie, Chairman of the Authority, attributed the
results to their marketing along with responding to the needs of the shipping
industry.
At mid-year 2020, there were reports that the shipping
industry was avoiding the Suez Canal taking the longer sea routes around
Africa. In addition, the canal of course lost revenues from the global
suspension of the cruise industry starting during the first quarter of 2020 as
well as seeing the transits of car carriers falling by 60 percent in the year.
Experts also forecast that Russia’s efforts to develop the Arctic route would
be a long-term challenge to the Suez Canal.
During 2020, a total of 18,829 ships representing 1.17
billion tons made the transit of the Suez Canal. The number of ships declined
by just 51 for the full year, while the tonnage transiting the canal declined
by three percent from 2019. The Suez Canal reported record volumes in 2019 with
a total of 18,880 vessels making the transit representing 1.21 billion tons.
While the total number of ships making the transit was off
for the year, the Authority highlighted that they had recorded increases in
several categories of ships due in part to their incentive pricing policies.
Bulk carriers saw the largest increase with the number of ships up more than 20
percent to a total of 5,113 bulkers. General cargo also increased nearly 20
percent to a total of 1,792 ships. Also, 4,710 containerships, including the
world’s largest vessels from MSC and CMA CGA, transited the Suez in addition to
5,006 oil tankers and 686 LNG carriers in 2020.
The Authority also highlighted their success in attracting
new carriers to sail via the Suez. More than 20 percent of the vessels
transiting the Suez Canal were from lines using the canal for the first time in
2020. The Authority attributed this to their marketing and incentive pricing
policies, noting that the new carriers represented nearly 17 percent of total
revenue for the Suez Canal in 2020.
Total revenue for the Suez Canal Authority was $5.61
billion, the third highest in the history of the Suez Canal, but it was down by
just over three percent from the record $5.8 billion in 2019. Lieutenant
General Rabie compared their results in 2020 to 2016 when world oil prices
collapsed driving revenues down to $5 billion and 2009 when revenues declined
to $4.29 billion during the global economic crisis.
The head of the Authority concluded his remarks by
emphasizing that the Suez Canal is aiming to continue the efforts to preserve
its position in global trade. Lieutenant General Rabie said that transit fees
for all types of ships crossing the Suez Canal will remain fixed at 2020
levels. The Suez Canal Authority also approved the renewal of the incentives
and reductions for some classes of ships that were put in place in 2020 to
address the unfavorable conditions and the challenges imposed by the
coronavirus pandemic.