Two earthquakes within 24 hours raise concerns in Egypt

The talk of the Russian state company Rosatom about a plan to develop the North Sea shipping corridor has renewed concerns about the impact of the shipping corridor, which extends across the Arctic Circle and connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, on the Egyptian Suez Canal, which is a major corridor for trade between Asia and Europe.

The Russian company Rosatom intends to implement a long-term program with the UAE company DP World to ship goods by container through the Russian Northern Shipping Corridor, according to what the German News Agency reported on Friday, quoting the General Director of Rosatom, Alexei. Likhachev.

Likhachov told reporters: “With our Arab partners, we aim to form an alliance to develop transit freight through the Northern Shipping Corridor, and we seek to develop a huge, long-term program with the participation of (DP World) to develop freight through the corridor, primarily container transit,” according to the German Agency.

Last year, Rosatom, in cooperation with DP World, established a company to develop the Northern Shipping Corridor. The Chairman and CEO of DP World, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, indicated in press statements at the time that “the company is developing a transit shipping route that will be about 40 percent faster from Tokyo to London compared to shipping through the Suez Canal.”

The history of cooperation between “Rosatom” and “DP World” dates back to 2021, when the two companies announced “work on experimenting with shipping containers between northwestern Europe and East Asia via the Arctic.”

The Northern Shipping Corridor extends from Novaya Zemlya, the far northwest of Russia, to the Bering Strait in the east. Russia has been working on developing the Northern Shipping Corridor for several years, and “global warming and the melting of ice have contributed to strengthening Moscow’s ambitions, which hopes that the corridor will turn into a major trade route between Europe and Asia by 2030, competing with the Egyptian Suez Canal,” according to observers.

In 2011, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was then prime minister, said that “the North Sea shipping corridor will soon compete with the Suez Canal as a faster trade corridor between Asia and Europe, as it is about a third shorter than the Southern shipping corridor,” according to statements reported by Reuters. ” at that time.

Rosatom considers the shortness of the route through the North Sea Passage a “comparative advantage,” according to the company’s newsletter last February. It says that “the length of the Northern Sea Route is 5,600 miles, while the full distance from Murmansk to Chinese ports via the Northern Sea Route is 7,000 miles, compared to 12,500 miles via the Suez Canal,” according to the company’s website.

Last October, Russia announced the arrival of the first ship from China via the “Northern Sea Route,” and the regional governor, Anton Alikhanov, said on “Telegram” at the time that “the northern corridor will be cheaper and faster than passing through the Suez Canal.”

The Secretary-General of the Arab Seaports Union, Major General Essam El-Din Badawi, told Asharq Al-Awsat, “Navigation in the (North Sea Corridor) is very difficult, due to the nature of the bad weather there, in addition to the lack of sufficient navigational aids.” He pointed out that “the recent agreement between (Rosatom) and (DP World) aims to develop navigational aid.” Badawi added, “The Northern Sea Route is one of the financially expensive routes, even if it is shorter in time, because navigation through it requires the provision of icebreakers to accompany shipping containers, in addition to the fact that the corridor does not operate throughout the year,” stressing that “the Suez Canal is out of competition.”

To support navigation in the North Sea, Rosatom is developing nuclear icebreakers, as “three icebreakers accompany ship convoys on the North Sea route so far,” according to Rosatom’s website.

The Secretary-General of the Arab Seaports Union pointed out that “talk about alternatives to the Suez Canal has increased now in light of the recent tensions in the Red Sea, which have prompted shipping companies to search for alternative corridors.”

From time to time, there is renewed talk about alternatives to the Suez Canal. The conversation recently escalated following tensions in the Red Sea, following attacks carried out by the Yemeni Houthi group on ships passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, coinciding with the war in Gaza. This ongoing tension since last November prompted major shipping companies to change their course and circle around the Cape of Good Hope, which led to a decline in Suez Canal revenues by “up to 50 percent,” according to official Egyptian statements.

The former director of the Naval College in Egypt, Major General Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil, believes that “so far there is no serious competitor to the Suez Canal.” He added to Asharq Al-Awsat that “the North Sea Corridor operates in certain seasons, and is closed in the winter by ice, and the cost of shipping through it is very high.” Khalil pointed out that “there is a general trend in the world to open new sea lanes, with the aim of confronting any dangers that may be exposed to navigation in the Suez Canal,” pointing to “proposals for other alternatives, such as the Ben Gurin Corridor from Eilat to Gaza, and the land line from Jebel Ali.” In the Emirates, through Jordan, then Israel.

The former director of the Maritime College in Egypt said: “So far, the Suez Canal is the most successful trade route between Asia and Europe, and there is no concern about competing lanes, because they do not provide a complete alternative,” adding that “The Suez Canal may be affected by this competition, but the extent of the impact will not exceed 7 percent of the total traffic within the channel.”

Last December, the Russian President said that “the North Sea Corridor is becoming day after day more efficient than the Suez Canal in transporting goods,” according to what was reported by the Russian “TASS” agency.

The head of the Egyptian Suez Canal Authority, Lieutenant General Osama Rabie, confirmed in televised statements last September that “there is no alternative to the canal.” He said, “The Russian corridor will not affect the Suez Canal, and will not be an alternative to it.” He explained that “the Russian Corridor only operates 4 months a year due to the snow that closes the road, while it needs icebreakers to open it in the summer,” pointing out that “the cost of the Northern Corridor is very high, the container load is small, and the draft does not exceed 9 meters, while the The draft in the Suez Canal is 18.5 metres.

Rosatom indicates that “shipping traffic on the Northern Sea Route has grown significantly, from 3.93 million tons in 2013 to 36.254 million tons last year, and the main shipments were oil, iron ore concentrates, and liquefied natural gas.” Rosatom expects the number to increase this year.

However, despite this, the number announced by Rosatom remains small compared to the volume of shipping through the Egyptian Suez Canal, which in the fiscal year 2022-2023 reached a “net tonnage estimated at about 1.5 billion tons,” according to official statistics in Egypt.