The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has unveiled new Suez Canal transit tolls to be applied next year.
Adm Ossama Rabiee, SCA’s Chairman and Managing Director (pictured), announced an increase the transit tolls for all types of vessels of 15%, however, cruise ships will be limited to a 10% rise at the beginning of January, 2023.
Adm Rabiee said that the SCA was keen to apply a balanced and flexible strategy on pricing and marketing that serves its own interest and that of its clients.
The new tolls take into consideration the various changes in the global economy through clear mechanisms, including the calculation of a vessel’s transit tolls depending on the savings it achieves by using the Canal.
This system works with navigational circulars issued and updated by the SCA according to real-time changes for all categories of transiting vessels, which allows for the amendment the transit tolls effectively in the event of changes in the global trading market.
He explained that the increased transit tolls took into account all the of the market changes in the maritime sector, monitoring the ever-increasing daily charter rates for most types of vessels.
Adm Rabiee also pointed out the impact that the increased energy prices had on the tolls’ calculation, where the continued increase in crude oil prices to over $90 per barrel, and the increase in the average LNG prices to more than $30 per MMBtu, have led to a rise in the average bunker prices and consequently an increase in the savings ships could achieve by transiting through the Suez Canal, compared to alternative routes.
He said that this increase was inevitable and a necessity in light of the current global inflation rates that have reached more than 8%. This translated into increased operational costs and the costs of the navigational services provided by the SCA.
