https://news.vice.com/article/ships-are-bypassing-the-suez-and-panama-canals-because-oil-is-so-cheap The title says it all. Interesting, indeed. I don't recall the Suez canal being closed, forcing ships around the Cape of Good Hope, since the June 1967 Six Day War between Egypt and Israel.
How it works in Suez is: The Egyptians calculate the fuel price it will cost for a certain type of ship to go around Africa instead of using the canal. They slap in another 10% or so because of time saved and that's the price it will cost you to use their canal. That is the basics of how they form their fees, though there are smaller details related to the calculation that I'm not familiar with. The large majority of shipping companies have been, and still are, fine with this as the time saved makes it worth it. I guess Egypt just needs to recalculate their price now that oil is cheaper, I don't know how often they make the calculations but might be time to do so if cargo ships are starting to avoid the canal.
From what I learned in school, the Suez and Panama canal have toll fees charged to vessels passing that route. It is their privilege to collect fees since it took a lot of time, effort, and money to build such canals. However, when a ship goes the long distance travel in bypassing the canal route, something is amiss. From what I remember, there are dangerous sea pirates passing by Somalia (am I right on my georgraphy?). But anyway, a longer route takes more time and if it can save on the fuel, I don't think it is commensurate or even impractical.
Close to somalia, along with the whole east coast really, it used to be dangerous. The danger is still there but to a much lesser extent than it was a few years ago. Now I would actually say that the west side (Nigeria) is much more dangerous.
