Overall tonnage in Suez Canal falls in May due to coronavirus pandemic

Egypt’s Suez Canal has recorded an overall tonnage of 94.8 million tonnes in May, down from 104.9 million tonnes in the same month in 2019 due to a decline in global trade movement over the coronavirus pandemic.

In an official statement, Suez Canal Authority chairman Osama Rabie said that the overall tonnage dropped by 10.1 million tonnes year-on-year due to a decline in global trade movement and global economic growth rates over the pandemic.

He said the canal reported the crossing of 1,601 vessels in May, in comparison to 1,600 in the same month in 2019.

The maritime traffic in the canal is an integral part of global trade movement, which is facing challenges amid the outbreak of the coronavirus and the fall in global demand for shipments, Rabie added.

The pandemic has created a state of recession in trade movement and loading and unloading operations across the world, he said.

However, Rabie said the Suez Canal has succeeded in dealing with the virus’s negative economic repercussions and maintained the transit of vessels since the beginning of the year through flexible pricing and marketing policies that aim to ensure the canal’s competitiveness.

Egypt had stressed in the past months that traffic through its vital shipping route had not been affected by the pandemic and shipping was proceeding at normal rates.

Suez Canal, which is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia, is one of Egypt’s main sources of foreign currency.

Egypt reported a 2 percent surge in revenues from the Suez Canal in the first four months of the year, recording $1.907 billion, compared with $1.869 billion in the corresponding period in 2019.