The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) in Egypt has announced that the transit tolls for all types of vessels in the Suez Canal will increase by 15% from next year.

SCA chairman and managing director Admiral Osama Rabie noted that the Suez Canal transit tolls for dry bulk ships and cruise ships will increase by 10%.

These changes will be effective from January of next year.

The authority’s decision regarding the increase in fees for passage through the canal is termed as inevitable and a necessity in order to deal with the impact of the current global inflation rates that have exceeded over 8%， which in return increased the operational costs and navigational services costs provided in the canal.

The most important factor in determining the Suez Canal transit fees is the average freight rates for various types of vessels.

In the recent period， the freight rates， especially for containerships， have increased， compared with the period before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Admiral Osama Rabie also noted that the increase in energy prices have also impacted the authority’s decision on tolls calculations.

The rise in crude oil prices to more than $90 per barrel， and the rise in the average LNG prices above $30 per million thermal units， have also led to an increase in the average prices of ship bunkers.

Due to the increase in energy prices， ships achieve savings by transiting through the Suez Canal as against other alternative routes， Rabie pointed out.

In January this year， SCA announced that the Suez Canal expansion project is expected to be completed in July next year.