Suez Canal Rules of Navigation
The Suez Canal Authority operational rulebook: draft tables, speed limits, tug requirements and the masters command position.
The Rules of Navigation in the Suez Canal are the Suez Canal Authority own operational rulebook, and they govern everything a transiting ship does between the entrance buoy and the far terminal. They carry the beam-versus-draft tables that decide whether a given ship may transit laden, the permitted speeds, the interval between vessels in convoy, the tug and escort requirements, and the reporting a ship must make.
Two provisions carry beyond the canal. Section II, Article 11, Part D provides that the captain has command of the ship at all times and that the pilot fulfils an advisory role only, which is the position the Panama Maritime Authority relied on in its investigation of the Ever Given grounding. Article 58 provides for an escorting tug, and the same investigation found that no escorting tug had been provided and that the transit had not been postponed despite the wind.
The full article will cover the structure of the rules, the draft tables and how to read them, the speed and interval regime, the tug and escort thresholds, the reporting requirements, and how the Authority amends them.