What materials do ships need to prepare when crossing the Suez Canal?

On June 4, local time, Suez Canal Authority issued a statement that an oil tanker "SEAVIGOUR" with Malta's flag was temporarily blocked due to engine failure when sailing in the Suez Canal that morning, and the failed oil tanker was towed away by a tugboat. The two-way shipping of the canal has now returned to normal. Since the incident of "Changci" blocking the Suez Canal two years ago, any accident in the Suez Canal will arouse people's attention and vigilance. And since then, ships have indeed run aground or broken down on the canal frequently.

Because some shipping personnel have not gone through the Suez Canal, it is inevitable that they are not sure what materials and key points need to be prepared when they go for the first time. Moreover, in order to pass through the Suez Canal requires a special canal agent to complete. Therefore, as a professional canal agent, E-PORTS will share with you the experience of crossing the Suez Canal and related precautions. Suggest collecting it ~

Introduction of Suez canal

Located between Port Said and Suez Bay, the Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, with a total length of 105 nautical miles. It is one of the busiest waterways in the world and an important channel for maritime trade in Asia, Europe and Africa. The allowable draft of Suez Canal is only 66 feet, which can accommodate 61.2% of the world's tanker fleet, 92.7% of the bulk carrier fleet and 100% of container ships and other ships. The importance of Suez Canal traffic endows the smooth passage of the canal with the greatest concern of every shipowner and ship manager.

What materials does the agent need to collect before the ship crosses the canal?

The captain shall inform the shipping agent of the estimated arrival time of the ship 15 – 10 – 5 – 3 – 2 – 1 day prior to arriving. The Canal Authority will arrange the formation according to the ETA submitted by the agent. The captain should prepare materials for crossing the river according to the requirements of the agent and arrange suitable pilots. The registration deadline is generally at 23:00 (+2) the day before. Of course, there are special situations. You can join the formation after 23:00, which needs to pay an additional fee. Under the following situations, if the ship crosses the limit line after a limited time, it can still join the fleet:

• Vessels arriving after 23:00 hrs till 24:00 hrs can still join the convoy against the payment of surcharge equal to 5% of the normal transit dues with a maximum of 12500 SDR
• Vessels arriving after 00:00 hrs till 01:00 hrs can still join the convoy against the payment of surcharge equal to 10% of the normal transit dues with a maximum of 25000 SDR
• Vessels arriving after 01:00 hrs may still join the convoy (if the convoy situation permits), against the payment of a surcharge equal to 12% of the normal transit dues with a maximum of 30000 SDR.

Vessels may get fined in the following occasions:

• If vessel is booked to join the convoy after sending exact ETA and fails to cross limit line in time or join the convoy for any reason, a fine of Us＄1000,~ Us ＄3000, will be charged to the vessel before being allowed to join the convoy again.
• If vessel is booked to join the convoy after sending exact ETA, vessel arrived in time and was enlisted in the convoy by the SCA, but was unable to join the convoy for any vessel-related reason then A fine of Us＄5000, will be charged to the vessel before being allowed to join the convoy again.
• All above-mentioned costs are to be against official receipts.

Upon arriving, Suez Canal Surveyor shall board the vessel for inspection. Before that, E-PORTS reminds you to prepare the following materials:

• Suez Canal Transit Forms
• Original of Ship’s Register +3 copies
• Suez Canal Special Tonnage Certificate +3 copies.
• 5 Crew Lists Stamped with Official Seals
• Cargo Manifest (one copy of full set for different discharging ports, Bill of lading, Mate’s Receipt, Quantity certificate)
• Final Stowage/Cargo Plan
• Out of Gauge (OOG)/Oversized Container List
• Floating Units declaration
• Heavy Units Declaration
• If the vessel is chartered or belonging to any Naval Department, kindly prepare an official letter attached with charter party

P.S. The above-mentioned documents are the most recent requirements by Suez Canal Inspector. However, please be informed that in some special cases and according to management instructions, Suez Canal Inspector may ask for more/different drawings and documents.

Other Precautions:

• Anchorages are given by the authorities according to the draft of the ship, and it should report to the authorities before and after anchoring.
• Pay attention to the high frequency, the authorities inform the crossing time and the upper diversion time, and arrange the preparation time reasonably through it.
• Because the authorities stipulate compulsory garbage collection, you must check whether the name of the garbage collection unit is consistent with the actual boarding unit or not through the agent , otherwise you will face a more risk of recycling garbage.

Final Work after Crossing the Canal

• After through the deadline arrival line (port boundary), report to the Port Control ' We have passed the report line, see you next time'.
• The agency will ask for the evaluation of the agency after crossing the Suez Canal by mail, which can truly evaluate the suggestions and improve the service quality.

There are still many notes needing attention when ships cross the Suez Canal. E-PORTS professional canal agents can remind you of various precautions in advance, and contact the authorities in time to get the latest news about crossing the canal. Hope you can cross the Suez Canal calmly, safely and successfully! For more requirements, you can consult E-PORTS through the following ways.