The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) will increase the transit tolls for all types of vessels by 15% during the next year and by 10% for dry bulk ships and cruise ships as of the beginning of January of 2023.
Adm. Ossama Rabiee, SCA’s chairman and managing director has confirmed the authority’s keenness to apply “a balanced and flexible strategy on pricing and marketing that serves the its own interest and that of its clients”.
He commented on the increased transit tolls clarifying that they come in light the SCA’s keeping up-to-date with all the market changes in the maritime transport sector which monitor the ever-increasing daily charter rates for most types of vessels that reached unprecedented levels and the forecast for next year shows a continuation in this rise.
“Clear examples of that are shown in the daily charter rates for crude oil tankers which increased in average by 88% compared to the average rates of 2021, and an increase by 11% in the average daily charter rates of LNG carriers compared to that of 2021,” said SCA in a statement.
Rabiee pointed out to the impact the increased energy prices have on the equation of tolls calculation where the continued increase in crude oil prices over US$90 per barrel, and the increase in the average LNG prices above US$30 per million thermal units, have both led to a rise in the average prices of ships bunker and consequently an increase in the savings ships achieve by transiting through the Suez Canal compared to other alternative routes.
Furthermore, he stated that the increase is inevitable and a necessity in light of the current global inflation rates that reached more than 8% which translates into increased operational costs and the costs of the navigational services provided in the Canal.
It is important to note that earlier in year, SCA announced another round of rise in toll rates.
