Suez: benefits and risks of one belt one road
According to Denis Petropoulos, president of Braemar Shipping Services Asia, the new deeper Suez Canal will benefit from the ‘one belt one road’ initiative taken by China. Speaking at the 1st Suez Canal global conference in Cairo, he pointed out that this is especially the case when it comes to the opening up of the Iranian market following the lifting of international sanctions, and the growing importance of India’s refinery markets.
Delegates were told that the Suez Canal will be able to handle almost twice the volume of traffic since the new dual carriage was completed.
Jeff Wilson, director of marine consulting (Europe) at Braemar Salvage Association, also informed the delegates that the planned increase in traffic stemming from the ‘one belt one road’ development will inevitably result in more vessels transiting and awaiting transit of the canal at either end, and this will require careful planning and handling to mitigate risks.