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Egypt's Suez Canal important in world trade for 160 years: Al-Sisi President thanks countries that offered assistance to Egypt for re-floating trapped ship
Egypt's Suez Canal has played an important role in world trade for more than 160 years, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said on Tuesday. Al-Sisi's remarks came during his visit to the Suez Canal Authority's (SCA) Maritime Training and Simulation Centre in Ismailia, as part of celebrations of the Egyptian success in re-floating the mega Ever Given container ship on Monday. The ship had been blocking the canal for six days, and its re-floating has allowed for navigation in the strategic waterway to resume. Al-Sisi asserted that the Suez Canal's blockage has reaffirmed its importance, and he hailed the efforts made by Suez Canal workers in resolving the issue. He added that the Ever Given crisis had put an end to talks on Suez Canal alternatives, as the Canal is a global facility for trade. The President thanked the countries that had offered assistance to Egypt for re-floating the ship. Al-Sisi directed for the provision of all necessary equipment for the SCA, to support its capabilities for the upcoming period. The authority's Chairperson, Osama Rabie said that the Canal records the least accidents in the world, adding that it is the first time for a trapped ship to be re-floated without any damage, and without requiring the unloading of its cargo. Rabie noted that around 113 vessels had navigated through the Suez Canal on Monday, in addition to 140 vessels which will navigate through on Tuesday, out of 422 ships waiting to pass. He added that if the Canal kept working at the same rate, all delayed vessels will navigate through the Canal within three days. Rabie explained that the volume of dredging work that took place in the Canal to re-float the Ever Given reached a depth of 18 metres, pointing out that about 15 locomotives participated in the floatation process. He confirmed that the most important lesson learned from the ship crisis is that the SCA has to modernise the dredger fleet.
