Record Figures in the Suez Canal Demolish Riyadh’s Claims

Exclusive Follow-ups – Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:

The head of the Suez Canal, Osama Rabie, affirmed today, Sunday, that navigation movement in the canal is proceeding with complete regularity, in a clear indication that the vital maritime passage has not been affected by the recent developments in Yemen, at a time when Riyadh was trying to portray those developments as a threat to international navigation.

Rabie said during an international event marking World Maritime Day that ship transit movement rose to 1,358 ships, compared to 1,070 ships in the same period last year, affirming that Egypt achieved revenues of about half a billion dollars from the canal last month alone.

These figures demolish the Saudi claims through which it tried to push Egypt to engage in its escalation against Yemen, under the pretext that the Suez Canal has become threatened, at a time when Egyptian data confirm that navigation is free and regular, and that transit movement is recording record figures.

This development comes after Sana’a forces completed their full control of the western coastal strip overlooking the Red Sea and its most important maritime passage in the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, a step that enhanced their ability to secure international navigation and demolished the claims that Riyadh tried to promote to justify its escalation.