ABOUT SUEZ CANAL

The Suez Canal ( In Arabic: Qanat as-Suways )

Is an artificial sea-level waterway running north to south across the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt to connect the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The canal separates the African continent from Asia, and it provides the shortest maritime route between Europe and the lands lying around the Indian and western Pacific oceans. It is one of the world’s most heavily used shipping lanes.The Suez Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world.

 

Saving In Distance Via The Canal And The Cape:

From To Distance SC Distance Cape Saving Miles Saving %
RAS TANURA CONSTANZA 4144 12094 7950 66 %
RAS TANURA LAVERA 4684 10783 6099 57 %
RAS TANURA ROTTERDAM 6436 11169 4733 42 %
RAS TANURA NEW ORLEANS 9645 12299 2654 22 %
JEDDAH PIRAEUS 1320 11207 9887 88 %
JEDDAH ROTTERDAM 6337 10743 4406 41 %
TOKYO ROTTERDAM 11192 14507 3315 23 %
SINGAPORE ROTTERDAM 8288 11755 3647 29 %

Advantages Of Suez Canal:

  •  Longest Canal in the world with no locks.
  •  Percentage of accidents is almost null compared to other waterways.
  •  Navigation goes day and night.
  •  Liable to be widened and deepened when required to cope with the expansion in ship size.
  •  The VTMS (Vessel Traffic Management System) has been introduced. It is a very accurate electronic system envisaging the most up to date radar network.
  •  The Suez Canal can now accommodate all Mammoth Tankers in service on their ballast trips.

Importance Of The Suez Canal:

  •  The unique geographical position of the Suez Canal makes it of special importance to the World and to Egypt as well.
  •  This importance is getting augmented with the evolution of Maritime Transport and World Trade.
  •  The Maritime transport is the cheapest means of transport, whereas more than 80% of the World Trade volume is transported by means of Sea routes.
  •  Saving in time and in operation costs for vessels that transit the Canal.

Historical Outline:

Egypt was the first country to dig a Man–Made Canal across its lands to connect the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea via the River Nile and Its branches, and the first who dug it was Senausret III, Pharaoh of Egypt (1874 B.C.) This Canal was abandoned to Silting and reopened several times as follows:

  •  Canal Fo Sity I:1310 B.C.
  •  Canal Of Nkhaw: 610 B.C.
  •  Canal Of Darius I: 510 B.C.
  •  Canal Of Ptolemy II: 285 B.C.
  •  Canal Of The Romans: 117 B.C.
  •  Canal Of Amir El Moemeneen: 640 A.D.

Following The Islamic Conquest And Remained Open For 150 Years.

  •  The Suez Canal is actually the first canal directly linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It was opened for international navigation on 17 November 1869.
  •  Egypt nationalized its Canal on 26 July 1956.
  •  The Canal was closed five times, the last time was most serious since it lasted for 8 years.
  •  The Canal was then reopened for navigation on 5 June 1975.

Stages of developing the Suez Canal :

Item unit 1869 1956 1962 1980 1994 1996 2001 2010 2015
Overall Length km 164 175 175 189.80 189.80 189.80 191.80 193.30 193.30
ByPasses Length km — 27.7 27.7 77 77 77 79 80.5 113.3
Width at 11 m depth m — 60 89 160/175 170/90 180/200 195/215 205/225 205/225
Water depth Max. m 8 14 15.5 19.5 20.5 21 22.5 24 24

Capacity of the Canal :

Suez Canal Authority has completed its planned phase to increase the Canal permissible draft to 66 ft at January 2010.

This enables the Canal to accommodate the following percentages of the fully loaded vessels :

  • 61.2 % Of the Tanker Fleet
  • 92.7 % Of the Bulk Carrier Fleet
  • 100 % Of the Container Ships & Other Ships

New Suez Canal

Actual dredged quantities according to progress of works 258.8 million cubic meters
Duration of execution 12 months, including mobilization of dredgers
Consortium’s first dredger to be employed in the project Dredger
Quantities of Dry excavation works 250 million cubic meters
Highest daily rate of dredged quantities was achieved by dredger 230,000 cubic meters
Highest daily output of dredged quantities was achieved on May 31th ,2015 1.73 million cubic meters
Number of dredgers employed in the project 45 dredgers
Number of sedimentation basins 20 basins