1670 ships passed through Suez Canal in July: SCA chief

CAIRO – 5 August 2021: Head of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie said on Wednesday that around 1670 ships have passed the Suez Canal in July.

He said a total of 108,957 ships have passed through the canal in the six years after the inauguration of the new Suez Canal.

This comes as a celebration was held by the SCA to launch the new dredger at the authority's new port in El Qantara El Sharqiya in the presence of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli, Ismailia Governor Sherif Beshara, several governors and the authority’s leaderships.

Madbouli commended naming the new largest dredger after Hussein Tantawi. It will join the SCA's fleet.

The dredger's name reflects the homeland's appreciation of the pivotal role which this great leader played in times of war and in political life, in addition to his wise leadership, added the premier.

Earlier, Madbouli raised the Egyptian flag on Hussein Tantawi dredger in the ceremony, which coincides with the sixth anniversary of opening the new Suez Canal.

The SCA chief said Hussein Tantawi dredger is the latest to join the authority’s fleet, adding that it is the second largest dredger in the Middle East.

The cutter suction dredger (CSD) Hussein Tantawi is a sister vessel of Mohab Mameesh dredger in terms of its capabilities. It arrived at the Suez Canal on board of Vessel TAI AN KOU Heavy Load Carrier, coming from the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Like Mohab Mameesh dredger that was launched in April, the Hussein Tantawi vessel, characterized by its long slender shape and high spud towers, has an overall length of 147.4 meters and a width of 23 meters, providing a maximum dredging depth of 35 meters.

It is a 29,190KW heavy-duty rock CSD and will be used to maintain and improve the Suez Canal, Rabie noted.

Hussein Tantawi dredger is fit out with up-to-date technology and it can catch 3-D photos deep in the water. It will contribute to expanding the Suez Canal waterway.

The dredger can dig about 3,600 cubic meters deep in any kind of sand per hour.

Madbouli was posted by Rabie on projects aimed at upgrading the authority's naval fleet.

Rabie said the dredger is an unprecedented addition to the SCA's fleet as it has giant potentials and will undoubtedly achieve quantum leap in the authority's capabilities.

The addition of the dredger to the fleet comes as part of the SCA's 2023 full strategy and in line with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's directives to modernize the fleet with a complete support of the Egyptian government, according to him.

Additional reporting by MENA