CAIRO, February 19. /TASS/. The Suez Canal’s revenues dropped by at least 40-50% amid the recent developments in the Red Sea, President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said.
"The situation in the Gaza Strip and events related to it affect Egypt as well. In particular, previously the Suez Canal brought in some $10 bln per day, and now we register a decrease in revenues by 40-50%," he said at the opening of EGYPES-2024 (Egypt Energy Show), adding that despite this, Egypt "still tries to meet its obligations to partners" in various sectors.
On January 16, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie also noted that the Suez Canal’s revenues were falling. In the first half of January the canal’s revenues fell by 41% year-on-year, while the number of vessels passing through the Suez Canal went down by 30% compared with the same period last year, with their tonnage having decreased by 41%.
Egypt’s revenues from the Suez Canal exceeded $10 bln last year. The canal is one of the Egyptian government’s biggest cash cows and helps the country boost its dollar reserves.
After the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Ansar Allah movement (the Houthis) warned that they would launch strikes on Israeli territory while barring ships associated with the Jewish state from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceased its military operation against Palestinian radical group Hamas in the embattled enclave. Since last November, the Houthis have attacked dozens of civilian vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Overnight into Monday the Houthi rebels announced an attack on the UK vessel Rubymar in the Gulf of Aden with the ship sustaining serious damage and being at risk of sinking, as they said. Sky News Arabia television reported this morning citing Yemeni sources that the Rubymar had sunk.