Samer Choucair: $419 Million Puts the Suez Canal Back at the Heart of the Global Energy Map
Investment leader Samer Choucair said the notable recovery in shipping activity and Suez Canal revenues underscores the strategic importance of Egypt’s maritime corridors as global energy-trade routes are being reshaped.
According to Choucair, April 2026 data showed canal revenues rising to approximately $419 million, up 27% year over year, alongside the passage of 529 oil tankers, an increase of 28%, and total vessel traffic of 1,182 ships, up nearly 14%.
Choucair explained that these figures represented the canal’s highest monthly revenue since early 2024. However, they do not yet indicate a full return to pre-Red Sea crisis activity, as shipping traffic remains below pre-crisis levels.
Meanwhile, the canal generated $4.67 billion in revenue during fiscal year 2025/26, up 23% from the previous year, while the number of transiting vessels increased by 10% and total tonnage rose 22%.
Energy Disruptions Reshape Shipping Routes
Samer Choucair said disruptions to regional energy trade, including the consequences of closures or interruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, have prompted some energy flows to seek alternative routes through the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
This has provided an additional boost to the Egyptian corridor, particularly oil-tanker traffic. However, he cautioned that the sustainability of these gains remains dependent on regional security developments and shipping companies’ decisions regarding their preferred routes.
For investors, the significance of these developments extends beyond higher canal revenues. Choucair said they could lead to a reassessment of assets linked to ports, logistics, storage, maritime transportation and energy infrastructure.
Institutional capital, he explained, is increasingly favoring assets capable of benefiting from the rerouting of global supply chains while maintaining resilience against geopolitical shocks.
Turning Geography Into a Long-Term Economic Advantage
Choucair said Egypt can maximize the benefits of the recovery by continuing to invest in logistics services and industries connected to the canal.
The Suez Canal Economic Zone also recorded record revenues of approximately EGP 15.9 billion during fiscal year 2025/26, an increase of 37%. This, Choucair said, strengthens the opportunity to transform Egypt’s geographic position into an integrated industrial and logistics platform.
He concluded that the Suez Canal is benefiting not merely from an increase in vessel traffic, but from the market’s renewed recognition of its strategic value.
The challenge for Egypt, according to Choucair, is to transform an upswing partly driven by geopolitical disruptions into sustainable growth in logistics, trade and industry—strengthening foreign-currency inflows and attracting long-term capital.