Price Hikes Underway at Suez Canal Crossing

The Suez Canal Authority announced a number of fee hikes as public finances face difficulties from the rising costs of international commodities, as a result of the war in Ukraine.

Starting this May, ships with crude and petroleum products will pay a 15% surcharge (instead of the current 5% surcharge). Laden and ballast liquefied petroleum gas tankers, chemical tankers and tankers for other liquid bulk will need to pay 20% of the normal fee, up from the current 10%. Laden and ballast dry bulk vessels will see their surcharge go up from 5% to 10%, while other ships will see theirs go up from 7% to 14%.

These surcharges have been described as temporary, and will be changed back according to global shipping conditions. The fees are expected to further increase Suez Canal revenues (which broke records last year at USD 6.3 billion), which hopes to help cover the higher cost of commodities such as wheat and oil.