Egypt declares Suez Canal traffic safe amid ongoing Red Sea tensions

Egypt declares Suez Canal traffic safe amid Red Sea tensions

Egypt announced at the 2026 World Maritime Day ceremony in Alexandria that vessel traffic in the Suez Canal was safe and operating normally. The canal’s August revenue rose 56.7% from the same month in 2025 to $567.1 million.

Scraper SystemSeptember 21, 2026, 07:31 PM

Egypt declares Suez Canal traffic safe amid Red Sea tensions

Egypt announced that maritime traffic in the Suez Canal was continuing safely and regularly as regional tensions around the Red Sea persisted.

Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, provided information about the canal’s operations and revenues at the 2026 World Maritime Day ceremony held in Alexandria and organized by the Maritime Transport Sector of the Ministry of Transport.

August revenue reaches $567.1 million

Rabie said vessel traffic through the canal was orderly in August and that Suez Canal revenue had risen to $567.1 million. The figure represents a 56.7% increase from the $326 million recorded in the same month of 2025.

Rabie said navigational services in the canal were continuing with high efficiency and that local pilots guiding vessels through the narrow passage were carrying out their duties with a high level of preparedness and professionalism.

Vessel and cargo volumes increase

According to navigation reports, 1,358 vessels passed through the Suez Canal in August. The vessels carried 68.3 million metric tons of net cargo.

In the same month of 2025, 1,070 vessels passed through the canal, carrying 45.2 million metric tons of net cargo. As a result, the number of vessels increased by 27%, net cargo volume by 51.1% and canal revenue by 56.7%.

Red Sea tensions affect the canal

Rabie said global and regional geopolitical changes in recent years had directly affected international supply chains. He said the Suez Canal had once again demonstrated its critical and irreplaceable role in safeguarding supply chains during this period.

Egypt made the announcement as tensions continued around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Following Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, the Houthis in Yemen targeted commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Major shipping companies subsequently redirected their routes around the Cape of Good Hope.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said the tensions in the Red Sea had cost Egypt approximately $11 billion in lost Suez Canal revenue.

Egypt declares Suez Canal traffic safe amid Red Sea tensions