The Hindu Business Line : Suez Canal depth being increased

THE Suez Canal Authority will increase the depth of the Suez Canal to 66 ft from 62 ft by the end of 2006 to accommodate "next generation of large ships," according to its Director, Mr Moustafa Mahamod Imam Saleh.

The project was started in 2001 and will cost over $250 million.

The increase in draft will help the canal accommodate 100 per cent of the global container fleet (fully loaded vessels), 99 per cent of bulk fleet and 60.4 per cent of the tanker fleet.

Besides, the canal can accommodate all ballast vessels, VLCCs (very larger crude carriers) and ULCCs (ultra-large crude carriers) in partial loaded conditions, Mr Saleh told Business Line.

After the increase in draft, the canal that links the Mediterranean Sea to The Red Sea across the Isthmus between Africa and Asia will handle vessels up to 2.40 lakh DWT (dead weight tonne) capacity from 2.10 lakh DWT.

The canal will handle all types of container vessels, including the 18,000-TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit) MalaccaMax ships of 2 lakh DWT capacity that are expected to be built in a few years (MSC Pamela with 9,200 TEU capacity is today the world's largest container vessel), he said.

According to Mr Saleh, there has been a steady increase in the number of ships transiting through the canal in the last five years.

From 14,142 ships in 2000, the number increased to 16,850 in 2004. This year, about 18,000 ships will pass through the canal, he said.

Mr Saleh said for a vessel from Singapore to Rotterdam passing through the canal, the saving would be 3,647 nautical miles — 8,288 nautical miles through the canal compared to 11,755 nautical miles through the Cape of Good Hope. Vessels transit the canal in 12-14 hours in the southbound convoy, he said.

The Suez Canal, opened in 1869, is a major transit route for Indian cargo going to the US or Europe, and vice versa, said a source in the shipping industry.

According to Mr Saleh, revenue from the canal is likely to increase to $3.4 billion this year, up from $3.1 billion in 2004. Container vessels contribute 52 per cent of revenue followed by oil tankers with 22 per cent.

The rest is from various other vessels, including bulk carriers, he said.