Suez doesn't lower transit tolls

The Suez Canal Authority won't be reducing tolls for 2009, despite an expected fall in vessel traffic.

   But the head of the authority said that options would remain open if the financial crisis deepens in the first half of the year, Reuters reported.

   Authority Chairman Ahmed Fadel said he projects a 7 percent drop in vessels transiting the canal in 2009 if the economic trough continues. Despite a fall in revenue the final three months of 2008, the canal authority saw a record $5.4 billion in 2008, up 16.7 percent from 2007.

   Vessel traffic in December fell 13.8 percent to 1,565 ships, compared to the same month in 2007.

   Aside from the drop in traffic due to falling demand between Asia and Europe, there's also the specter of piracy in the Gulf of Aden, which leads to the Red Sea and then the Suez Canal. Several carriers have refused to transit through the Middle East and instead sail around the Cape of Good Hope. An analyst contacted by Reuters said she expected canal revenue to be down slightly from 2008, if tolls are kept at the same level.

Source: American Shipper