Suez Canal reports stronger performance after recent disruptions

The Suez Canal has shown strong resilience in the face of major economic and geopolitical challenges over recent years, the Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), Osama Rabie, said on Sunday at the opening of the 15th International Maritime Transport and Logistics Conference (MARLOG) in Cairo. Rabie said the waterway has turned crises into opportunities and is now a global example of how to withstand significant disruptions.

Speaking at the event, which was organised by the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport under the patronage of the Arab League, Rabie said the canal has confronted difficulties such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ever Given grounding, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the recent Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb navigation crisis.

Rabie said that the crisis in the Red Sea had a significant impact in 2024, but that the final quarter of 2025 marked the start of relative recovery following a ceasefire in Gaza and restored regional stability. He pointed to navigation statistics for the first half of the 2025/26 fiscal year, showing a 5.8 per cent rise in transiting vessels and a 16 per cent increase in net tonnage compared with the same period last year, which helped generate an 18.5 per cent increase in revenues. Since the start of 2026, 1 315 ships carrying 56 million tonnes of net cargo have passed through the canal, generating revenues of $449 million against $368 million in the same period last year.

He also outlined steps under the SCA’s 2030 strategy to develop the authority’s human resources and infrastructure. These include advanced training programmes, upgraded vocational centres, a new centre for innovation, and improvements to the maritime training and simulation academy.

Rabie highlighted recent upgrades to the waterway, noting that the completion of the southern sector project has improved navigational safety by 28 per cent. He said the canal is embracing digital transformation and broadening services such as crew change, maritime ambulance and rescue support, while shipyards and affiliated companies are building auxiliary marine units under the “Made in Egypt” initiative.

During the conference, Rabie visited the SCA pavilion at the MarTech 2026 exhibition, where local and international companies showcased maritime and port services technologies. On the sidelines of the event, he held talks with the President of the Saudi Ports Authority, Suleiman bin Khalid Al-Mazroua, on future cooperation in logistics services, shipbuilding, port operations and dredging.

Rabie expressed hope for strengthened cooperation that reflects the evolving needs of maritime and logistics sectors, while Al-Mazroua praised the SCA’s role in supporting stable global navigation and expressed interest in joint projects including ferry construction and quay development.