The Egyptian Suez Canal Authority admitted this week that the shipping traffic there was severely damaged as a result of the repeated attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea.
The authority reported that the canal's revenues decreased by 23.5% during the last financial year (which ended in June 2024), and amounted to 7.2 billion dollars.
The chairman of the Authority, Osama Rabia, said yesterday that "shipping traffic in the canal was severely affected by the consequences of the crisis in the Red Sea, as security challenges caused many ship owners and operators to use alternative routes to the canal, which had a negative effect on the rates of ships crossing the canal."
Rabie added: "The decrease is reflected in the transit data during the fiscal year 2023/2024, during which 20,148 ships transited and revenues of 7.2 billion dollars. In the previous fiscal year 2022/2023, 25,911 ships transited, which generated revenues of 9.4 billion dollars."
It should be noted that the Suez Canal is a significant source of foreign exchange income for Egypt.