The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) announced that their ports experienced significant activity in 2023, accommodating 3,414 ships of various types, amounting to a total weight of approximately 78 million tonnes, as the Egyptian Cabinet stated on Wednesday . The northern ports of Al-Arish, East, and West Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea accommodated 2,973 ships, totalling 51.1 million tonnes in 2023. Meanwhile, the southern ports of Sokhna, Adabiya, and Al-Tur on the Red Sea received 1,017 ships with a combined weight of 26.9 million tonnes during the year. Al-Arish Sea Port, which began operations in October 2023 with the launch of the first dock, the 250-metre Sinai berth, and the nearly 1-km Tahya Misr berth, handled 147 ships throughout the year. These ships exported bulk goods to international markets, totalling approximately 741 thousand tonnes. Al-Arish, as a key port in the eastern Mediterranean, also received aid ships and floating hospitals from around the world to support Palestine during the current crisis. In 2023, East Port Said Port, ranked tenth globally in 2022, handled 1,563 ships with a capacity of 45.5 million tonnes and 3.71 million TEU containers, demonstrating its performance improvement. While West Port Said Port received 1,263 ships with a capacity of 4.78 million tonnes and 456,000 TEU containers. Furthermore, Sokhna Port in the southern region saw significant activity, handling 606 ships with a total tonnage of about 20.3 million tonnes and 904 thousand TEU containers. The port received various types of ships and achieved a 21 per cent increase in ship reception and a 12 per cent rise in goods compared to 2022. Al Adabiya Port handled 6.5 million tonnes of cargo, equivalent to about 80.4 thousand TEU containers, by receiving 399 ships. These included 158 general cargo ships, 122 liquid bulk ships, 73 dry bulk ships, 40 container ships, 3 live animal ships, and 3 other ships. Al-Tur Port, located in the southern region of the Red Sea, will accommodate 12 ships with a total weight of around 95.2 thousand tonnes in 2023. The port primarily serves Gulf of Suez oil companies, specialising in maintaining petroleum service ships and oil rigs.
