Suez Canal Cuts Tolls for Dry Bulkers
The Suez Canal Authority is offering a discount to dry bulk vessels with the aim of attracting more ships to transit the waterway.
Laden dry bulk vessels coming from ports in the East and South Australia and heading to ports in the North West Europe are to be granted 75% rebate of the full amount of Suez Canal transit tolls, the authority said in a circular, reported by MANA correspondent.
In addition, laden dry bulkers coming from the Republic of South Africa ports and heading to the ports in the Mediterranean Sea (including Black Sea ports) bounded by Ceuta port at the West of the Mediterranean Sea shall be granted a 40% rebate of the usual Suez Canal transit tolls.
In order to be eligible for the discount, the operating companies must submit a request through their shipping agencies before sailing from the origin port. The request must state: vessel’s particulars, origin port and destination port, ETA to the Suez Canal and the vessel’s condition.
As indicated, the vessel must not call any intermediate ports during its voyage between origin port and destination port for commercial purposes.
The move comes on the back of the canal authority’s reduction of transit tolls for Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and boxships in the summer of 2016, all with the aim of bolstering the waterway’s traffic.