General presentation: Maritime facs
Egypt has a relatively large maritime space in the Mediterranean, having claimed an EEZ (and not having a highly proximate opposite State) and having a Mediterranean coastline which stretches for 1100 km.
Egypt additionally has a coastline in the Red Sea, which is connected to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, resulting in very intense maritime traffic in Egyptian waters: the Suez canal carries in excess of 15,000 vessels annualy.
Egypt has not yet developed a holistic or integrated maritime policy, although in recent years it has been active in developing ICZM.
No national dedicated maritime governance structure exists at the Government level to support the development of a national integrated maritime policy, and there are no governance setups (national forum, national maritime council, etc.) to allow maritime stakeholders to participate at decision or at implementation level.
Most traditional maritime activities are based on explicit and well‐defined sectoral strategies supported by dedicated sectoral administrations and generally complete legislative frameworks, although some laws could benefit from updating and the regulatory framework can be complex with several entities involved.
Egypt ratified UNCLOOS in 1983. It has declared a 12 mile territorial zone, a 24 mile contiguous zone and an EEZ. In 1990 it declared the baselines of the maritime area. In March 2003 it signed a delimitation agreement with Cyprus with respect to their respective Exclusive Economic Zones. Other borders remain unresolved. These include: Libya (territorial sea and fishing zone/EEZ); Greece (continental shelf); Israel‐Gaza (territorial sea and continental shelf).
Maritime assets are very important in Egypt, and the country has the maritime potential (maritime space and marine resources, strategic position) to become a major stakeholder in many maritime sectors.