Economic Determinants of Passenger Ship Transport System via Egyptian Red Sea Ports

 
The terrible accident of “Alsalam 98” ferry ship disclosed deep problems concerning the passenger ship transport system via Egyptian Red Sea Ports, roots of several problems has to do with the Red Sea passenger ship market supply and demand factors , the research problem states the absence of an economic and safe passenger sea transport from / to Egyptian ports on the Red Sea , despite the fact that tens of thousands of passengers travel via this region by sea each year .
 
“Alsalam 98” accident was a tragic point towards further deterioration of the Red Sea passenger ship market, that resulted in significant decrease of demand on ship travelling across the Red Sea , on the other hand , a decrease on supply side occurred as Egyptian and Saudi governments , took  stricter ship safety measurements that resulted in cancelling several shipping licenses .
The research concluded that there are several Egyptian passenger ships and ferries which operate via  Red Sea ports , owned by Egyptian investors  but raising flags of convenience , these ships and ferries operate in violation of  the prevailing laws and regulations of the Egyptian maritime transport sector , moreover the noncompliance of ISM and international safety measures aboard these ships , supported by corruption and careless practice , resulted in the terrible accident and caused the death of hundreds .
     The recession of the passenger ship and ferry market is attributed mainly to the accident and its negative impacts as many passengers lost confidence in shipping safety and shifted towards air transport  despite the higher rates in comparison to maritime transport , the shrinking number of ships and ferries from 37 to 9 vessels is considered temporarily , as the passenger market capacity via Red Sea Ports is estimated to be 3 million passenger / year , but to meet this vast demand more strict measures have to be applied , as the most important of  it is to grant the safety and security of passengers aboard ships to restore the lost confidence of the passenger ship and ferry system  operating in the Red Sea Region .