By Agnese Boffano

 

CAIRO, 12 June. - (ANA) - The number of oil shipments sailing through Egypt's Suez Canal has risen sharply since the onset of the US-Israel war on Iran on 28 February, as disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz push energy companies to seek alternative routes via the Red Sea.

 

Actors that once relied heavily on the Gulf chokepoint have increasingly looked to the Suez Canal as a relatively risk‑free corridor for crude and liquefied natural gas heading to Europe and beyond.

 

According to Egypt’s state statistics agency CAPMAS, cited by Bloomberg, a total of 529 oil tankers transited the Suez Canal in April 2026 – a 28% increase compared with the same month a year earlier.

 

The agency also reported an uptick in broader canal traffic, with 1,182 vessels making the journey in April, up 14% from 2025. Revenue for the month reached $419 million – the highest level for any April since early 2024 and a 27% surge compared with April 2025.

 

The Suez Canal has long been a critical source of foreign currency for Cairo, with analysts suggesting that the recent spike offers a rare economic opportunity as Egypt wrestles with mounting debt and inflation.

 

But despite the rebound, canal activity remains far below pre‑2023 levels, when Suez Canal crossings plunged after Yemen’s Houthis began attacking commercial ships in the southern Red Sea in response to Israel’s war on Gaza in late 2023. Prior to Houthi military intervention, Suez traffic was nearly double the current volumes.

 

The latest disruption stems from the fallout of the US‑Israel war on Iran, which has effectively shut one of the world’s most strategic energy corridors.

 

Roughly a fifth of global crude and liquefied natural gas trade normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman. Ordinarily, about 20 million barrels of crude oil would transit the narrow waterway every day, equivalent to around 20% of global liquid petroleum consumption in 2024.

 

Since late February, however, those flows have been crippled, as both Tehran and Washington repeatedly use the Strait of Hormuz as leverage in the ongoing negotiations.

 

On Wednesday, Iranian officials again declared the strait "closed" in response to fresh US attacks, threatening that any vessel attempting to transit could be targeted and accusing Washington of pushing diplomacy "further out of reach”.

 

Washington, for its part, has maintained a naval blockade on Iranian ports since April.

 

For global energy markets, the result has been to divert a significant share of crude and gas away from Gulf transit routes and towards alternative routes. For Egypt, this has translated into more tankers queuing at the southern entrance of the Suez Canal.

 

Regional producers have likewise attempted to adapt. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has tried to circumnavigate both Red Sea and Hormuz disruptions by activating an alternative pipeline network that moves crude overland from its eastern refineries to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

 

From there, maritime tracking platforms show, shipments can sail northwards towards Suez without passing through the Strait of Hormuz, reducing exposure to Iranian threats while still tapping into Mediterranean and European markets.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/12 June 2026 - - -