The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has fixed transit tolls for all types of carriers, except for dry bulk carriers and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers, which will increase by five percent starting April 2020, according to SCA Chairman Osama Rabie. Rabie explained that transit tolls were decided after careful analyses of developments in competitor routes, as well as studies on developments in the maritime transport market, global economy and the global trade movement. Such studies are carried out by the economic unit at the SCA's department of planning, research and studies. Rabie stated that there has been a 3.9 percent increase in the number of ships passing through the canal in 2019: 18,880 ships passed through the canal in 2019, up from 18,174 in 2018. He added that the canal's revenues in 2019 recorded $5.8 billion, up from $5.7 billion in 2018, registering an increase of 1.3 percent. He said the Suez Canal is “a main artery for global seaborne merchandise trade.” Some 8.3 percent of the global trade pass through the canal, as well as 25 percent of global containerised goods and 100 percent of seaborne container trade between Europe and Asia. He added that the Suez Canal can accommodate 100 percent of the global fleet of container ships, 92.8 percent of the dry bulk vessels fleet, 61.9 percent of oil tankers fleet, 100 percent of all other fleet types with full load and 100 percent of the global ship fleet empty or with partial load.
