Suez Canal Authority, Hapag-Lloyd discuss cooperation

Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Chairman Osama Rabie met on Tuesday with Juan Pablo Richards, Regional Head for Southern Europe at Hapag-Lloyd, to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation and increase the number of shipping services transiting the canal.

During the meeting, Richards said additional Hapag-Lloyd services are expected to resume transiting the canal in the coming period, alongside two services already operating to and from Asia through the waterway.

He also pointed to potential future cooperation between the SCA’s Maritime Training and Simulation Academy and the Damietta Alliance Container Terminal, Tuhya Misr 1, at Damietta Port, to train ship captains. Hapag-Lloyd is a major investor in the terminal.

Rabie affirmed the canal’s readiness to receive various shipping services, noting that it continues to develop its navigation services and modernise its marine fleet to meet customers’ requirements. He expressed hope for the full return of Hapag-Lloyd’s shipping services, stressing the canal’s importance in ensuring the sustainability of global supply chains amid geopolitical challenges and rapid changes in the maritime transport industry.

Richards praised the development of the canal’s services and said Hapag-Lloyd is monitoring developments in the Red Sea and maritime safety indicators to determine when to adjust its sailing schedules as transit through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal gradually resumes.