The document discusses the importance of the Suez Canal to Egypt's economy and international trade. It notes that Suez Canal receipts are a key source of foreign currency for Egypt and have increased in relative importance as other sectors like tourism and foreign investment have declined. It analyzes traffic trends through the Canal since 1975, noting an increase in average daily tonnage but slight decrease in vessels. Deeper drafts allow larger ships to pass through the Suez Canal than will be able to pass through the expanded Panama Canal. Around a quarter of both vessels and cargo tonnage using the Canal are oil tankers and shipments.

1. The Suez Canal Relative Importance to
Egypt and to the World
August 2015

2. § Why is the Suez Canal important to the Egyptian economy?
§ How has traffic through the Suez Canal been evolving since 1975?
§ How did the depth of the Canal evolve over time? And how does the current depth compare to
the Panama Canal?
§ How much is the Suez Canal reliant on international oil trade?
§ What are the top countries using the Suez Canal for trade (exports + imports)?
§ How would transit dynamics change after the opening of the parallel waterway (New Suez
Canal)?
§ Would the shorter transit time automatically translate into higher receipts?
Table of Contents

3. 0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2013/14
USD
bn
Suez
Canal
Tourism
Foreign
Direct
Investments
SC
receipts
exceeded
tourism
receipts
in
2013/14
as
the
tourism
sector
was
adversely
affected
by
the
poor
security
situaIon
post
June
2013
SC
receipts
exceed
net
FDIs
in
2010/11
as
the
laKer
declined
sharply
post
Jan
2011
Development
of
Selected
Key
Foreign
Currency
Receipts
(2009/10-­‐2013/14)
Chart
1:
Why is the Suez Canal
important to the
Egyptian economy?
Suez
Canal
receipts
represent
a
key
source
of
foreign
currency
in
Egypt;
whereby
it
reached
USD
5.4
bn
in
FY
2013/14.
The
relaIve
importance
of
the
Canal
increased
as
other
key
foreign
currency
generaIng
acIviIes,
like
FDIs
and
tourism,
faltered
post
2011
and
2013
revoluIons
(See
Chart
1).

4. How has traffic through the Suez Canal been
evolving since 1975?
Average
daily
traffic,
in
terms
of
number
of
vessels
and
net
tonnage,
increased
steadily
between
2002
and
2008
associated
with
a
pickup
in
global
economic
growth
and
world
trade.
The
global
economic
downturn,
however,
led
a
significant
decline
in
traffic
in
2009.
InteresIngly,
the
average
daily
tonnage
increased
31%
between
2009
and
2014,
while
the
average
daily
number
of
vessels
decreased
marginally
by
0.4%
over
the
same
period.
This
is
explained
by
a
significant
increase
in
the
average
tonnage
per
vessel
post
2009
as
exhibited
in
Chart
3
as
the
internaIonal
shipping
industry
strives
to
minimize
marginal
cost
amid
a
slowdown
in
global
economic
acIvity
and
trade.
Hence,
the
depth
of
the
Canal
is
much
more
important
than
the
width.
SC's
Daily
Average
Traffic
(1975-­‐2014)
Chart
2:
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
Daily
Average
Net
Tonnage
(1000
ton)
Daily
Average
No.
of
Vessels
(right
scale)
SC's
Daily
Average
Traffic
(1975-­‐2014)
Chart
3:
-­‐
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
1000
ton
Global
trade
is
becoming
more
reliant
on
bigger
vessels
with
higher
Dead
Weight
Tonnage
(DWT)
A
leap
in
the
average
tonnage
per
vessel
post
the
financial
crisis

5. How did the depth of the Canal evolve over time? And how does the
current depth compare to the Panama Canal?
The
depth
of
the
Suez
Canal
has
increased
over
the
years
to
currently
support
vessels
with
maximum
draa
length
of
66
a
which
exceeds
the
maximum
draa
length
in
the
New
Panama
Canal,
expected
to
open
in
2016,
which
will
stand
at
49.9
a.
The
current
dimensions
of
the
Canal
support
100%
of
fully-­‐loaded
container
fleet,
95.4%
of
fully-­‐loaded
bulk
fleet,
64.2%
of
fully-­‐loaded
tanker
fleet
and
100%
of
other
fleet
types.
Some
bigger-­‐sized
unsupported
tankers
can
sIll
pass
through
Suez
Canal
not
fully-­‐laden
by
offloading
part
of
the
shipment
into
the
Suez-­‐
Mediterranean
(SUMED)
pipeline
and
reloading
it
at
the
end
of
the
Canal.
Suez
Canal
Maximum
DraQ
(Q)
Chart
4:
22
35
38
53
56
58
62
66
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1869
1956
1962
1981
1994
1996
2001
2012
Source:
U.S.
Energy
InformaIon
AdministraIon

6. How much is the Suez Canal reliant on international
oil trade?
In
2014,
oil
tankers
and
LNG
ships
represented
27.2%
of
total
vessels
transiIng
through
the
Suez
Canal
(see
Chart
5).
Crude
oil,
refined
oil
products
and
LNG
represented
almost
25%
of
total
cargo
tonnage
carried
through
the
Suez
Canal
in
2014
(See
Chart
6).
Breakdown
of
Total
No.
of
Vessels
by
Ship
Type
(2014)
Chart
5:
Tankers
23.6%
L
N
G
3.6%
Bulk
Carriers
17.8%
Combined
Carriers
0.0%
General
Cargo
7.3%
Container
Ships
35.7%
Ro/Ro
Ships
1.3%
Car
Carriers
5.8%
Passenger
Ships
0.4%
Others
4.3%
Traffic
Breakdown
by
Cargo
Type
(2014)
Chart
6:
Crude
Oil
&
Oil
Products
22%
LNG
3%
Other
75%

7. What are the top countries using the Suez Canal for
trade (exports + imports)?
North
of
the
Canal,
Spain,
Italy,
Netherlands,
Egypt
and
U.K.
are
the
top
countries
that
used
the
Suez
Canal
in
2014.
While
in
the
South,
Saudi
Arabia,
Singapore
and
Malaysia
were
the
top
users
of
the
Suez
Canal
in
2014.
Cargo
Tonnage
by
Country
in
2014
(North
of
the
Canal)
Chart
7:
Spain
9%
Italy
9%
Netherlands
9%
Egypt
8%
U.K.
8%
United
States
7%
Turkey
6%
Greece
5%
France
5%
Ukrania
5%
Other
29%
Cargo
Tonnage
by
Country
in
2014
(South
of
the
Canal)
Chart
8:
Saudi
Arabia
21%
Singapore
18%
Malaysia
13%
China
6%
India
6%
United
Arab
Emirates
6%
Oman
4%
Srilanka
3%
Iraq
3%
Qatar
3%
Other
17%

8. How would transit dynamics
change after the opening of the
parallel waterway (New Suez
Canal)?
The
newly
dug
35
km
waterway
increases
the
double
parts
of
the
Suez
Canal
to
115.5
Km,
represenIng
almost
60%
of
the
total
length
of
the
Canal.
This
is
expected
to
cut
the
average
transit
Ime
from
22
hours
to
11
hours.
Would the shorter transit time
automatically translate into
higher receipts?
With
less
than
half
a
day
saving
in
transit
Ime,
projecIng
a
higher
market
share
for
the
Suez
in
global
mariIme
transit
would
be
premature,
especially
with
the
New
Panama
Canal
coming
on
stream
next
year.
The
total
traffic
passing
through
the
Canal
will
ulImately
depend
on
the
growth
in
the
volume
of
global
trade
which
is
currently
subdued.
However,
the
Suez
Canal
Authority
might
capitalize
on
the
transit
Ime
savings
in
order
to
increase
transit
fares,
but
such
increase
would
sIll
be
limited.
The
development
of
the
Suez
Canal
area
into
a
logisIcs,
industrial
and
re-­‐export
hub
provides
much
bigger
opportuniIes
to
the
EgypIan
economy
leveraging
on
the
strategic
locaIon
of
the
Suez
Canal
at
the
crossroads
of
internaIonal
trade
routes.
A
master
plan
for
the
project
was
presented
during
the
Egypt
Economic
Development
Conference
(EEDC)
held
in
March
2015,
and
key
legislaIve
amendments
had
been
made
to
allow
for
the
establishment
of
the
Suez
Canal
Special
Economic
Zone
and
grant
the
Suez
Canal
Authority
the
power
to
establish
companies.
Sources:
Suez
Canal
Authority,
Central
Bank
of
Egypt,
BIMCO,
U.S.
Energy
InformaIon
AdministraIon

9. “Advice
is
judged
by
results
not
intenons”
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