Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to invest in Suez Canal to avoid closure repeat
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said that his country would invest in equipment to avoid a repetition of the closure of the Suez Canal as happened in the past week.
President Sisi made this promise when he visited Ismailia, home to the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).
He gave this assurance a day after the giant container vessel Ever Given, was refloated. The vessel was wedged diagonally across the span of the canal for almost one week. The Suez Canal is narrow therefore a blockage will not allow for other ships to pass.
Several ships were held up due to the Ever Given getting stuck.
Sisi said “We will acquire all the necessary equipment for the canal,” to avoid similar incidents.
Egyptian authorities have described the freeing of the huge vessel as a vindication of the country’s engineering and salvage capabilities.
Sisi announced success after the stern was freed, several hours before the bow of the ship was finally dislodged.
Traffic started moving for the ships that were stuck from Monday morning. There were over 400 ships waiting due to the incident.
On Tuesday morning, maritime tracking sites showed ships exceeding 200,000 tonnes — a similar size to the Ever Given — navigating the narrow waterway.
The canal authority says it will take over three days for the tailbacks to clear.
The canal authority added that Egypt lost between $12 and $15 million in revenues for each day the waterway was closed.
Meanwhile, Maritime data company Lloyd’s List said the blockage had held up an estimated $9.6 billion worth of cargo each day between Asia and Europe.