Despite challenges created by the pandemic, the ongoing chaos in the supply chain, and the six-day closure of the canal by the grounding of the ultra-large container ship Ever Given last March, larger volumes of cargo were shipped through the Suez Canal in 2021 than in any other time in history.
In 2021, some 1.27 billion tons of cargo were shipped through the canal, earning $6.3 billion dollars (5.5 billion euros) in transit fees, 13 percent more than the previous year and the highest figures ever recorded, Suez Canal Authority (SCA) chief Osama Rabie said.
The number of ships using the canal rose from 18,830 in 2020 to 20,694 in 2021, or more than 56 ships per day, the SCA said in a statement.
Connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, the canal accounts for roughly 12 percent of global maritime trade and is a source of much-needed foreign currency for Egypt.