CAIRO: Revenues of the Egyptian Suez Canal under the express crossing arrangement recorded $1.692 billion, said Mahmoud Abdul Wahab, the spokesman of the Suez Canal Authority. "The number of ships passing through the canal under the express crossing arrangement amounted to 16,928 vessels since the arrangement was first launched in 1997, he added. The express crossing arrangement saves the time ships have to wait to pass through the Suez Canal after the official time for cargoes in return for surcharges ranging from 3 percent to 10 percent depending on the number of hours delayed. The authority's spokesman said that tariff cuts for long distance vessels have contributed to $1.496 billion of revenues since the cuts were introduced in 1987 to the end of 2006. Revenues of the Suez Canal mounted to $3.8 billion in 2006. The Suez Canal Authority provides discount for long-distance cargoes in order to attract these vessels through lower shipping costs. The discounts are expected to continue through 2007. Meanwhile, the authority has decided to increase charges for oil cargoes by 3.37 percent and for military ships by 2.72 percent this year. Charges on passenger ships and trade vessels will also be increased by 1.14 percent and other ships will face a 2.38 percent increase in charges.
