![A "Welcome to Egypt" sign can be seen across the Suez Canal on 30 March 2021 in Ismailia, Egypt. [Mahmoud Khaled/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1232019401-1.jpg?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has announced a new plan aimed at encouraging ships to travel through the canal after many changed courses to the Cape of Good Hope due to recent Red Sea security concerns.
According to local media, SCA Chairman, Admiral Osama Rabie, revealed that the authority is currently studying a proposal to offer shipping companies discounts of up to 15 per cent on transit fees. This initiative comes in response to a noticeable drop in maritime traffic caused by ongoing instability in the Red Sea region.
Rabie noted that April 2025 saw a decline in vessel crossings compared to previous months, as many shipping firms remain cautious due to continued threats in the area.
In light of this decline, he added, “the authority is considering temporary reductions in transit fees of between 12 and 15 per cent in an effort to restore normal traffic levels by the end of 2025.”
Speaking to Sada El-Balad, an Egyptian news channel, Rabie explained that “the proposed discounts form part of a broader strategy to enhance the canal’s competitiveness in relation to alternative routes, such as the Cape of Good Hope.”
He pointed out that while traffic through the canal in March had slightly improved compared to February, overall shipping activity had not yet returned to normal levels.
In an effort to address this issue, Rabie added that he has been in direct communication with various shipping lines and companies to encourage them to use the canal again. However, he acknowledged that concerns persist due to continued Houthi attacks on vessels and the absence of a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Houthis have targeted ships passing through the Red and Arabian seas, the Bab Al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where over 52,800 people have been killed in a brutal Israeli assault since 7 October 2023, most of them women and children.
The group halted attacks when a Gaza ceasefire was declared in January, but resumed them after Israel renewed air strikes on Gaza in March.