Shippingtelegraph: Suez Canal sees 1,315 ships and $449M in revenue since 2026

_{Photo credit: Suez Canal Authority / Image: SCA chairman and managing director Ossama Rabiee.}

The Suez Canal recorded the transit of 1,315 vessels with a total net tonnage of 56 million tons since the beginning of 2026, generating revenues of $449m, the Suez Canal Authority’s (SCA) chairman and managing director Ossama Rabiee announced.

This is compared with 1,243 vessels transiting during the same period last year, with a total net tonnage of 47 million tons and revenues of $368m.

The announcement was made by Suez Canal Authority chairman Ossama Rabiee during the opening of the 15th edition of the International Maritime Transport and Logistics Conference (MARLOG).

The conference is organized by the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, under the auspices of the League of Arab States in cooperation with Egypt’s Ministry of Transport and runs from February 8 to 10.  

Rabiee noted that navigation statistics for the canal during the first half of fiscal year (2025/2026) showed a relative improvement, with a 5.8% increase in the number of transiting vessels and a 16% rise in net tonnage. This positively impacted revenues, increasing them by 18.5%, compared with the same period of fiscal year 2024/2025, he said.

Addressing the Red Sea crisis in particular, which proved the resilience of the canal, Rabiee said 2024 was a year of testing and significant impact for the canal, while the last quarter of 2025 marked the beginning of a relative recovery.

He explained that the Suez Canal has demonstrated its ability in recent years to overcome various economic and geopolitical challenges, highlighting its success in turning crises into opportunities throughout successive challenges.

These include the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as the navigation crisis in the Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb.

Rabiee also reviewed the administrative developments implemented by the SCA as part of its 2030 strategy, which focuses on empowering young talent through advanced training programs, upgrading vocational training centers, establishing a Center for Innovation and Excellence, and further developing the Maritime Training and Simulation Academy.

He then outlined the efforts to develop the Suez Canal waterway, which resulted in the completion and commissioning of the southern sector development project, increasing the canal’s navigational safety by 28%.

The SCA chairman emphasized that the Authority’s shipyards and affiliated companies have made significant progress in building maritime units, as part of the strategy to localize the maritime industry under the slogan “Made in Egypt,” which has been culminated in the signing of a contract to export two tugboats to the Italian company NERI.