The Suez Canal will raise transit fees for most ships
The Suez Canal Authority has announced an increase in additional transit fees for most categories of vessels. The new rates will take effect on July 15, 2026, and will impact the costs of carriers using one of the world’s most important trade routes.
According to navigation circulars, the Egyptian canal operator will increase temporary surcharges on standard transit rates, citing current conditions in the global maritime market.
The largest increase will affect oil tankers and vessels transporting petroleum products. For loaded vessels, the surcharge will rise from 25% to 37%, and for vessels in ballast, from 15% to 27%.
Surcharges for gas carriers and chemical tankers will also increase significantly. Specifically:
- LPG carriers and chemical tankers will pay a surcharge of 32% instead of 20%;
- LNG carriers will pay a surcharge of 19% instead of 7%.
The changes will also affect the dry bulk shipping segment. For bulk carriers, the surcharge will increase from 10% to 22%, while container ships will pay a surcharge of 12%. At the same time, the current multi-tiered surcharge system for container ships will remain unchanged.
For general cargo ships, heavy-lift vessels, Ro-Ro ships, and other categories, the surcharge will increase from 14% to 26%.
Separate rates have been set for car carriers: 26% for northbound voyages and 12% for southbound voyages.
Passenger ships remain the only category to which the new changes do not apply.
The Suez Canal Authority emphasizes that the updated system of additional fees will apply to all vessels that begin transit through the canal on July 15, 2026, or later.
It is also noted that the additional fees are temporary and may be revised or canceled depending on market conditions. At the same time, the base tariff system remains unchanged, and the base rates have not been revised since 2024.
Experts predict that the fee increase will lead to higher costs for maritime transport through the Suez Canal, primarily for carriers of oil, petroleum products, natural gas, containerized cargo, and dry bulk cargo. This could impact logistics costs and global supply chains.
This is reported by Indexbox.
Earlier, the sanctioned Russian oil tanker Komander, which was passing through the Suez Canal, broke down, posing a threat to the passage of other vessels.
