Decrease in number of Egyptian commercial ships

The number of the Egyptian commercial ships dropped to 121 during the last year in comparison to 132 ships in 1996, while the volume of the current cargo of these ships reached 1.8 million tons.

This came in a study by the transportation department in the Egyptian Businessmen's Association which stated that 73% of the ships in the Egyptian fleet are more than 15 years old.

The study said modernization of the Egyptian fleet is currently required with support from the government through facilitating use of regional and international aid to encourage construction of Egyptian ships.