Dredging work to widen the southern section of the Suez Canal, south of the Great Bitter Lake, has started following last week’s announcement that Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi would back the project.
Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Osama Rabie announced last week that the widening process would take two years to complete and would add an extra 40m in width to the canal making the whole length of the waterway two lane. Currently convoys of vessels either heading north or south have to negotiate the narrow 30km stretch in turns.
According to local reports on Saturday, work on the widening project had begun following orders from al-Sisi “to immediately start implementing the proposed development plan and put in place a timetable for completion as soon as possible.”
The work was prompted by the blockage of the canal for six days, following the grounding of the 400m Ever Given in March, delaying the transit of more than 400 ships through Suez, and sparking fears of prolonged delays if the vessel could not be moved rapidly.
The 20,000TEU Ever Given was finally dislodged by up to 13 tugs and several dredgers working to dig beneath the vessel in order to refloat it on the high tide.
The Suez Canal Authority initially claimed US$916 million in compensation, including US$300 million for loss of reputation. The SCA dropped its claim for the loss of reputation last week with the claim, now apparently standing at US$616 million.
Around 10-12% of the world’s trade transits the waterway every year, making the Suez Canal one of the most important trade bottlenecks anywhere in the world.
