Suez Canal revenue jumps 42% as Hormuz closure reroutes ships

Suez Canal revenue rose 42% in July compared with a year earlier, reaching $505 million, as the Iran war's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing Houthi threats in the southern Red Sea pushed more vessels toward the Egyptian waterway.theedgemalaysia+1

A total of 1,340 ships transited the canal in July, up 27% from July 2025 and a notable increase from 1,208 vessels in June, according to data from Egypt's state statistics agency CAPMAS. Oil tankers accounted for 526 of July's crossings, up from 485 the previous month, likely reflecting the rerouting of Saudi Arabian oil exports via the Red Sea after routine transit through Hormuz collapsed.bloomberg+1

A Waterway in Partial Recovery

The July figures represent the canal's highest monthly revenue since December 2023, extending a recovery that began earlier this year. Traffic had plunged in early 2024 when Yemen's Houthi rebels started targeting international shipping in the southern Red Sea to pressure Israel during the war in Gaza. The canal brought in a record $10.2 billion in 2023, and some 2,300 ships crossed in April of that year.theedgemalaysia

The Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies, has been effectively shut to routine commercial shipping amid the U.S.-Iran conflict. A brief reopening under a June ceasefire agreement quickly unraveled when Iran announced the waterway was closed again. By early July, only 16 vessel crossings were recorded in a seven-day period, according to maritime analytics firm Windward.news.un+3

With Hormuz largely impassable, Saudi and Gulf oil exports have been rerouted through the Red Sea. But a subsequent Houthi threat has prompted many ships to exit northward through the Suez Canal rather than risk the Bab el-Mandeb strait, another chokepoint at the Red Sea's southern entrance.theedgemalaysia

Revenue Targets and Outlook

The Suez Canal Authority expects full-year revenue to reach between $5.8 billion and $6 billion, up from $4.1 billion in 2025, chairman Osama Rabie said in a recent television interview. The authority also raised surcharges effective mid-July, including a new 12% charge on container vessels and increased levies on crude oil tankers to 37% from 25%.meobserver+1

Despite the uptick, both traffic and revenue remain well below pre-crisis levels. Mohamed Abu Basha, head of macroeconomic analysis at EFG Hermes, said the resurgence is expected to continue, driven by rerouted oil exports and the resumption of some Red Sea services by European shipping lines.theedgemalaysia

The canal, along with tourism and overseas remittances, has long been one of Egypt's most important sources of foreign exchange. For the 2025-2026 fiscal year ending in June, canal revenue reached $4.67 billion, a 23% increase over the prior year.egyptianstreets