Egypt's Suez Canal to increase surcharges on crude tankers from April
Transit fees paid by crude oil and petroleum product tankers passing through Egypt’s Suez Canal will increase starting on April 1, according to The National.
Surcharges on these ships will be raised from 15 per cent to 25 per cent of total transit fees, the Suez Canal Authority said on its website on Tuesday.
Surcharges on empty (ballast) tankers will also be raised, from 5 per cent to 15 per cent, when the new rates come into effect in April.
The charges will be applied on ships travelling through the canal in both directions, the authority said. The latest increase comes after the authority raised all transit fees by 15 per cent on January 1. The increase was lower, at 10 per cent, for bulk carriers and tourist ships.
In March last year, the authority announced new surcharges to be levied on all ships going through the canal. The SCA has steadily increased tolls and surcharges on vessels traversing the waterway over the past couple of years.
It has also announced an ambitious plan to deepen and widen stretches of the 193km waterway after the Panama-registered giant container ship Ever Given ran aground in the canal.
