On Friday the Suez Canal achieved its biggest daily income since the start of the world financial crisis in 2008, the Suez Canal Authority has announced. The authority attributed the boom to economic recovery and development works on the canal. The Suez Canal is one of Egypt's most important sources for hard currency, along with tourism and remittances. It is also perceived to be an indicator of the status of world trade. The authority said that on Friday US$18.7 million was made in profits, with the passage of 65 ships carrying loads exceeding three million tonnes. This year, the authority allowed the passage of vessels with drafts as deep as 20 meters (usually with loads of 220,000 tons), now that the canal has been deepened to more than 62 feet. In 2009, the canal's revenues dropped due to the global reccession. Some ships were also forced to travel via the Cape of Good Hope because of piracy off the Somalian coasts. But this year has seen an improvement in the size of income and cargos. The canal's profits reached more than US$4.5 billion last fiscal year, which ended on 30 June. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
