Dollar revenues from Egypt’s Suez Canal are down 40% from the beginning of the year compared to 2023, canal authority head Osama Rabie said on Thursday, after attacks on ships by Yemen’s Houthis caused major shippers to divert away from the route.
Ship traffic was down 30% in the period between Jan. 1 and Jan. 11 compared to a year prior, Rabie said, speaking on a late night talk show.
The number of vessels to pass through the Suez Canal dropped to 544 so far this year, from 777 in the equivalent period of 2023, he said.
Political sensitivities. Some of the multinational coalition currently patrolling the area have declined to be named, and it’s widely speculated that Egypt is among them.