The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The canal is part of the Silk Road that connects Europe with Asia.
Cairo: Egypt’s Suez Canal said Sunday its annual revenues reached USD 6.3 billion last year, the highest in the crucial waterway’s history.
Admiral Ossama Rabei, head of the Suez Canal Authority, said last year’s revenues rose 12.8 per cent, compared to 2020, when the canal achieved USD5.6 billion.
He said in a statement that 20,649 vessels flowed through the Suez Canal last year, an increase of 10 per cent compared to 18,830 vessels in 2020.
The unprecedented 2021 revenues came as the shipping industry is still under pressure from two years of the coronavirus pandemic.
The canal, one of the world’s most vital waterways, was blocked for six days in March when a massive Panama-flagged container ship, the Ever Given, ran aground in the single-lane stretch of the waterway.
This post was last modified on January 3, 2022 2:47 pm