An official announcement said that first quarter 2023 revenues were up 35% to $2.3bn, while numbers of transit vessels rose 20% in the same period. In January, Osama Rabie, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), said he expected canal revenues to hit $8.7bn for full-year 2023.
March 13 saw the highest daily canal transit figure in the waterway's history, when 107 ships, at a collective tonnage of 6.3m tonnes, made the crossing in both directions.
Reports said the announcement came during a meeting held by Egyptian President Abdelfattah El-Sisi, Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly, and the SCA’s Rabie, held earlier this week.
Despite a wholesale upgrade of canal’s ability to handle bidirectional flows in 2015, the Egyptian President continues to call for improvements in its navigability, facilities and infrastructure, in order to smooth the flow of maritime traffic and prevent operational mishaps such as the stranding of the Evergreen-operated Ever Given, which lasted for a week in spring 2021, throwing global trade into chaos.
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