Despite the blockage caused by the container ship Ever Given in March, traffic rose 12.8% last year on this crucial route for world trade. The Egyptian authority in charge of the channel announced on Sunday a turnover “unprecedented” $ 6.3 billion in 2021.
The Suez Canal recorded a “Unprecedented record” freight traffic in 2021, despite the grounding of the container ship Ever Given in March, reports the news site Egypt Independent.
According to the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), Oussama Rabie, the turnover of this essential route to global maritime trade stood at 6.3 billion dollars (5.5 billion euros) in 2021, with traffic “Over 1.27 billion tonnes, exceeding the total number of figures recorded so far ”.
A historic record despite a historic blockage
The passage between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, in eastern Egypt, was taken last year by 20,694 ships, compared to 18,830 in 2020, or a “10% increase” compared to 2020. “The revenues of the Suez Canal have registered a significant increase of 12.8%” compared to 2020 and “Passed the billion dollar mark for the first time since its inception”.
These results should be compared with the “Historic blockage last March by the giant container ship Ever Given, causing a major disruption of world maritime trade ”, Explain Financial Afrik. This six-day halt in navigation “Lost Egypt between 12 and 15 million dollars per day [10,5 à 13 millions d’euros], according to SCA”, adds the pan-African economic magazine. “EAbout 10% of world maritime trade passes through the Suez Canal. ”