Int'l Shipping Lines Confirm Returning to Suez Canal as Soon as Red Sea Crisis Ends

Osama Rabie, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority said that the international shipping lines confirmed their readiness to return to the canal as soon as the Bab al-Mandab crisis ends.

This came during the team’s participation, Sunday, in the opening of the activities of the thirteenth annual International Maritime Transport and Logistics Conference (MARLOG).

In his speech, Rabie touched on the security and geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb region that have erupted since last November, and which continue to cast a shadow on the global maritime scene, as freight loads for ships heading to Red Sea ports rose to $6,800 per container, compared to about $750 per container before the crisis. In addition to the high costs of ship fuel and the high cost of insurance, sometimes reaching 10 times the pre-crisis insurance value.

He added that these meetings witnessed the discussion of ways to deal with the disruption of global supply chains in light of the increase in the duration of the journey it takes to circumnavigate Africa using the Cape of Good Hope route and the lack of ports and navigational and logistical services along this route, which enhances the strategic importance that the Suez Canal enjoys.