Cairo: Shipbrokers ICAP have reported that shipping lines, none too happy with toll increases on the Suez Canal, are threatening to reroute.
Toll increases for vessels transiting the Suez Canal have now come into force, with containerships seeing rate increases of 2%. “Shipping bodies have continued to complain that the increase is unacceptable in a downturn,” ICAP reported, “when freight rates remain under pressure. Some have warned that with bunker prices now falling, it could mean that owners route their ships via the Cape of Good Hope.”
The move would be a further step in soaking up excess capacity in the global merchant fleet. [05/05/13]
