Annual Report 2021
3. The Chairman’s Address 2021 – Salvage in the Desert
PHOTOGRAPHER: AHMED GOMAA/XINHUA/ZUMA PRESS
The year 2021 will be remembered for the 6 days blockage of the Suez Canal by m.v. EVER GIVEN from 23rd until 29th March 2021. The grounding itself was not that spectacular, but the massive impact on global trade, in one of the busiest shipping lanes, dominated the headlines in the world press reports. Over 19,000 ships per annum or about 53 ships per day pass through the Suez Canal, which equals around 15% of the world shipping traffic. The blockage created a backlog of over 400 ships awaiting transit through the Canal. The Suez Canal Authority announced in July that the Canal revenue increased to a record of US$3bln over the first 6 months of 2021, despite the grounding incident of m.v. EVER GIVEN in March. One could conclude that its motto “The Suez Canal is Egypt’s gift to the world” also applies in the reverse that “The Suez Canal is the world’s gift to Egypt”.
10
