The volume of shipments through the Suez Canal decreased by 70 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of the year, Enterprise News reported online, citing data from the PortWatch platform of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Some shipping companies continue to avoid the key trade artery because of attacks by Yemen’s <a href="https://time.news/united-states-announces-international-coalition-to-protect-trade-in-the-red-sea/" title="United States announces international coalition to protect trade in the Red Sea“>Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
At the end of September, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced that revenues from the channel, which is the main source of foreign currency for the country, have fallen by more than fifty percent in the last eight months, which is more than six billion dollars, BTA reported.
Against this backdrop, the Maritime Administration is introducing new yachting incentives and services to promote yachting and maritime tourism along the Red Sea coast. From November 1, if they meet the canal’s navigational regulations, yachts over 300 tons will be able to join the direct ship convoy and bypass those waiting at anchor in the Great Lakes. Yachts berthed for more than 90 days at Ismailia Marina will receive a 20 percent discount on the transit fee. Smaller yachts calling at the Suez Canal ports of Port Said and Suez to complete transit procedures will receive a 50 percent reduction in port charges if they do not stay overnight and do not use electricity and water.
The Houthis launched missile and drone attacks against merchant ships in the Red Sea in a show of solidarity with the Palestinian group Hamas in its war with Israel. The conflict began on October 7, when fighters from Hamas and other Palestinian factions attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 240 hostages. Tel Aviv launched airstrikes in Gaza and then launched a ground operation in the enclave.