Suez Canal Authority (SCA) is an

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian state-owned authority which owns, operates and maintains the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

. It was set up by the

Egyptian government The politics of Egypt are based on republicanism, with a semi-presidential system of government. The current political system was established following the 2013 Egyptian military coup d'état, and the takeover of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. ...

to replace the

Suez Canal Company Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same b ...

in the 1950s which resulted in the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

. After the UN intervened, the three invading countries (France, Israel, and the United Kingdom) were forced to withdraw.

Establishment and organization

SCA is an independent authority having legal personality. SCA was established by the nationalization act signed on 26 July 1956 by the Egyptian president

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...

. The act at the same time nationalized the Suez Canal Company and transferred all its assets and employees to the SCA established by this act. The head office is located in

Ismaïlia Ismailia ( ar, الإسماعيلية ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city has a population of 1,406,699 (or approximately 750,000, includi ...

. In Port Said the administration building of the earlier Suez Canal Company is used. Its board of directors comprises 14 persons, including the chairman and managing director.

Assets, duties and responsibilities

SCA owns the Suez Canal and all areas, buildings and equipment pertaining thereto. SCA issues the Rules of Navigation, specifies the tolls for the use of the canal and collects them. The tolls are expressed in XDR and collected in

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

GBP Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...

EUR The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . Th ...

and other currencies. In 2008, the total revenue in tolls was 5,381.9 million USD for the passage of a total of 21,415 vessels - resulting in an average toll of 251,314.5 USD per vessel. SCA is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Suez Canal, for the safety of the traffic and for all other matters relating thereto. According to the nationalisation act, SCA is bound by the 1888

Convention of Constantinople The Convention of Constantinople is a treaty concerning the use of the Suez Canal in Egypt. It was signed on 29 October 1888 by the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, the Russian Empire, and the Otto ...

, which grants the right of free access and use of the canal at equal conditions to all ships, commercial ships and ships of war, in times of peace or of war, even to ships of belligerent parties. SCA is responsible for the computerized traffic management supported by radar, for the 14

pilot station Pilot Station ( esu, Tuutalgaq) is a city in Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 568 at the 2010 census, up from 550 in 2000. Geography Pilot Station is located at (61.936050, -162.883403), on the northern bank of t ...

s and their pilots. Since 1996, SCA operates the ''Maritime Training and Simulation Center'' for its pilots. SCA operates some 60 ships and boats, such as tugs,

dredger Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

s, cranes, and smaller boats. According to SCA's web site, its facilities also include 114 ferry connections with 36 ferry boats; the Ahmed Hamdi road tunnel; the Nile Shipyard; the roads alongside the canal; a silk production in a farm at Serabium using treated sanitary waste water for irrigation; water plants in the canal cities; 12,000 housing units; a hospital in Ismailia and emergency hospitals at both ends of the canal; 4 schools and various sports and recreational centers.

Revenues

In 2020, the total revenue generated amounted to 5.61 billion USD and 18,829 ships with a total net tonnage of 1.17 billion passed through the canal. Daily revenues are $15 million USD or €13 million. On 2 January 2022, SCA announced revenues of 6.3 billion USD for 2021 - the highest in the canal's history. This represented an increase of 12.8% over 2020. In total, 20,649 vessels flowed through the Suez Canal in 2021 - an increase of 10% over 2020.

Chairmen of the Suez Canal Authority

Since nationalisation (1956–present): * Helmy Bahgat Badawi (26 July 1956 – 9 July 1957) * Mahmoud Younis (10 July 1957 – 10 October 1965) *

Mashhour Ahmed Mashhour Mashhour Ahmed Mashhour (Arabic: مشهور أحمد مشهور, April 1, 1918 – July 6, 2008) was the Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (October 1965 – December 1983). Early life and education Mashhour was born in April 1918 in Al-Saadiee ...

(14 October 1965 – 31 December 1983) * Mohamed Ezzat Adel (1 January 1984 – December 1995) *

Ahmed Ali Fadel Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

(22 January 1996 – August 2012) *

Mohab Mamish Vice Admiral Mohab Mamish ( ar, مهاب مميش; born 6 August 1948) was the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority. He was the Commander of the Egyptian Navy from 27 September 2007 until August 2012. He was also a member of the Supreme Council ...

(August 2012 – August 2019) *

Osama Mounir Rabie Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until his death in 2011. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, his group is designated ...

(August 2019 – present)

References

External links