The Suez Canal Authority has announced a decision to reduce the toll on empty US oil vessels sailing through the canal to the Gulf by between 20 and 45 percent.
The new toll was introduced on Monday and will continue for six months, ending in December, at which point it will be reviewed and possibly extended.
In a statement on Monday, the authority said that ships with a capacity of 200,000 tons or more will be entitled to the cheaper rate of passage.
To pay the reduced toll, companies will have to file a request in advance of their vessel's passage through the canal, officially confirming the port it departed from, the date of departure, the contents of the ship, intended date of arrival, and any ports stopped in en route. Companies should present a certificate showing the reason for any stopovers.
The toll must be paid in full by any ship-owner who fails to submit the relevant documents with full details of their ship's journey and stops.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
