Qatari ships are free to sail through the Suez Canal

CAIRO - 6 June 2017: An official source in Suez Canal Authority declared that “Egypt’s decision to break diplomatic relations with Qatar will not affect the sailing of Qatari ships through the Suez Canal; being an international and neutral waterway.”

According to the articles of the Convention of Constantinople, “the Suez Maritime Canal shall always be free and open, in time of war as in time of peace, to every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of flag. Consequently, the High Contracting Parties agree not in any way to interfere with the free use of the Canal, in time of war as in time of peace.” Ships can only be banned to sail in Suez Canal in case of a clear announcement of a launched war against Egypt, illegal armament, drugs, and human trafficking.

According to Al Shorouk newspaper, Captain Masoud Nidan; head of the Maritime General Union of Marine Officers, explained on Monday that international waterways are governed by special laws, adding that all ships sailing in Suez Canal including Qatari, Iranian, and Israeli ships sail under the flags of other nations such as Panama and Liberia. There is a difference between the nationality of the ship and the nationality of the owner of the ship.

Captain Nidan added that “any violation of the international conventions to sail in Suez Canal will be punishable and the damaged party is entitled to file an international lawsuit against the party that violated the convention. As a reaction to this violation, the offended party can break bilateral relations and ban ships from sailing through their waterways, forcing those ships to find alternative routes.”