EMEA News
Suez Canal Offers Incentive of 30% Discount to Container Ships
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has announced that it has reduced tolls for container ships traveling the Suez Canal from the port of New York and its southern ports, heading to the Port Kelang and its eastern ports, by 30 percent for the period of March 7th to June 5th 2016.
The news comes on the heels of an SCA response to a recent report by Seaintel ApS (SeaIntel) indicating that low bunker prices are leading some vessels to save money by diverting via the Cape of Good Hope and avoiding the canal.
While SCA asserts that Suez Canal usage is actually increasing, it is reported that 41.2 million TEU was shipped through the canal last year, a 2.3 percent decline when compared against the 2014 year, while the actual number of container ships transiting the canal in 2015 dropped 3 percent to 5,941.
The SCA says that in order to glean the discount, vessel operators will have to submit a request prior to sailing, as well as a certificate showing the port of origin, and a declaration of arrival to the next port within 60 days of using the canal.
To be eligible for the discount, vessels may also not call at any port in between the origin and destination ports described under the discount scheme.
It has not yet been announced if the SCA has intentions of renewing the discount after its June 5 expiry.
In July, analysis from Argus questioned whether the Suez Canal expansion was capable of better accommodating the traffic rise seen since 2011 and encouraging further traffic to utilise the canal.
