The chief of the Suez Canal Authority, Vice Admiral Ahmed Fadel, said the global economic crisis and pirates off the coast of Somalia have not affected maritime traffic across the Suez Canal so far. Speaking to press agencies and several global satellite TV channels, he said the returns of the canal stood at $ 4,571 million over the first ten years of 2008. He also affirmed the Canal would make record profits this year. He called for a solution to be found to the political crisis in Somalia and urged the international community to stand against pirates. He also made it clear the problem of Somali pirates was due to the absence of a state in Somalia. Meanwhile, the Maritime Transport Academy has started training courses for shipmasters to fight pirates. The Authority for Maritime Safety also decided to allow a shipmaster to work as such only after passing this course. This new condition will come into force starting from the next Umrah [small pilgrimage] season. Shipmaster Mohamed el-Sharqawi said the training courses started since piracy first appeared in the Red Sea. Speaking exclusively to Al-Masry Al-Youm, he said the courses taught how to fend off pirates through water cannons, which are capable of sinking pirates' small boats before they can get onboard.
