Adm. Ossama Rabiee, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, met with Juan Pablo Richards, Regional Head for Southern Europe at Hapag-Lloyd, to discuss ways of strengthening cooperation. The meeting took place at the Authority's headquarters in the Irshad Building in Ismailia.
The meeting was attended by Eng. Marwan El-Sammak, Chairman of Hapag-Lloyd's Egypt operations; Dr. Fathy Abdel Bary, Director of the Authority's Planning, Research and Studies Department; and Eng. Abdel Rahman Ramadan, Director of the Transit Department.
Opening the meeting, Adm. Rabiee confirmed the Canal's readiness to receive the various shipping services seeking to transit the waterway, noting that SCA has continued to develop its navigation services and to modernize its fleet to meet clients' requirements.
The SCA Chairman expressed his hope for a full return of Hapag-Lloyd's services to the Canal, stressing that the Suez Canal is an indispensable waterway to the sustainability of global supply chains amid geopolitical challenges and rapid changes in the shipping industry.
For his part, Richards expressed his appreciation for the fruitful, long-standing cooperation with the Suez Canal, hoping that improvement of the navigation indicators would continue.
He added that the line is closely monitoring the developments in the Red Sea region and maritime safety indicators, which will allow it to take appropriate decisions on adjusting and updating its sailing schedules in light of the gradual return of transits through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal.
He added that further Hapag-Lloyd services are expected to return to the Canal in the coming period, in addition to the two services already operating between Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal waterway.
Richards also expressed his interest in exploring ways of future cooperation with the SCA in new fields, noting a future opportunity for cooperation between the SCA's Maritime Training and Simulation Academy and the Damietta Alliance Container Handling "Tahya Misr 1" Terminal at Damietta Port, in order to provide training for masters, as Hapag-Lloyd is a major investor in the Damietta Alliance Terminal.