Egypt's Suez Canal revenues rose 14.2% year-on-year between July and October, the canal authority said on Tuesday, citing calmer conditions in the Red Sea after a ceasefire in Gaza and a pick up in traffic through the vital waterway.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis launched more than 100 attacks on ships in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab Strait that links them in 2023 and 2024 in what they described as solidarity with the Palestinians over Israel's war in Gaza, prompting many shippers to switch to alternative routes.
Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie said 229 ships returned to transit through the canal in October, the highest monthly figure since the start of the regional crisis, adding that traffic volumes and tonnage had shown a "relative improvement" in recent months.
From July to October, 4,405 vessels carrying 185 million metric tons passed through the canal, compared with 4,332 ships carrying 167.6 million tons in the same period last year, Rabie told Reuters during a meeting with representatives from 20 major shipping lines in Ismailia.
Rabie said the positive atmosphere following last month's Sharm el-Sheikh summit on Gaza's future had encouraged many carriers to resume using the canal.
He invited global shipping companies to conduct trial voyages through the waterway, underscoring Egypt's efforts to restore confidence among maritime operators after months of disruption in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab region.
French shipping line CMA CGM has already resumed crossings with two large container vessels, while other operators, including MSC, Ever Green, and Cosco, said they were considering expanding their activity through the canal as conditions stabilise.
The Suez Canal, the fastest sea route between Europe and Asia, remains a key source of hard currency for Egypt, which has faced financial strain amid regional instability and reduced transit traffic earlier this year.
(Reuters - Reporting by Yusri Mohamed and Moamen Saeed Atallah. Writing by Mohamed Ezz. Editing by Mark Potter)
