The Canal Authority decided at the start of the year not to increase tariffs due to uncertainty in the shipping industry in the light of the piracy problem in the Gulf of Aden and the worldwide credit crunch.
Arms manufacturers in particular have rerouted their shipping round the Cape of Good Hope in recent months to avoid pirates preying on vessels en route between the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean.
The canal is Egypt's third-largest source of revenue after tourism and remittances from expatriate workers.
The government last year raised more than five billion dollars from ships passing through the canal.