Egypt's Suez Canal Authority (SCA) on Tuesday said the revenues of the canal in the first eight months of 2021 rose by 11.6 percent year on year to 4.09 billion U.S. dollars.

Some 13,317 vessels crossed the canal from January to August in 2021 compared with 12,482 ships a year ago, up by 6.7 percent, the SCA said in a statement.

The increase in revenues came as the SCA has been implementing a plan to widen and deepen the southern part of the canal.

The Suez Canal is a major lifeline for global seaborne trade since it allows ships to travel between Europe and South Asia without navigating around Africa, thereby reducing the sea voyage distance by about 7,000 km.

Some 12 percent of the world trade volume passes through the man-made canal, a major source of hard currency in Egypt.