2015-02-27

The Suez Canal, Egypt

The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt; it is an important international navigation canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. It's considered to be the first artificial canal to be used for travel and Trade. It was opened in 1859, and after 10 years, it allowed ships to travel between Europe and South Asia without navigating around Africa, thereby reducing the sea voyage distance between Europe and India by about 7,000 kilometres.

The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, it is an important international navigation canal Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Its considered to be the first artificial canal to be used in Travel and Trade.

Initially, it was 169 kilometres long and 8 metres deep. It is estimated that approx. 7-8 per cent of global maritime trade, and after renovation it is 193.30 kilometres long, 24 metres deep and with a wonderful width of 205 metres. 500 ships navigated in its first full year of operation. Major improvements began in 1876; however, the canal soon grew into one of the world's most heavily travelled shipping lanes.

The Suez Canal, Egypt, became one of the most important sources of foreign exchange. Egyptian authorities' annual profits from the Suez Canal are 5 billion dollars. The Suez Canal Authority of Egypt maintains the canal. Under the Convention of Constantinople, it may be used "in time of war as in time of peace, by every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of flag." To increase the capacity of the canal, construction was launched in 2014 to build a second canal along half of the route at a cost of 8.4 billion USD. This time, the expansion of shipping capacity is expected to be doubled, from 49 to 97 ships a day. The construction of the project is expected to be complete in 2015.

First Image credit: PatCharlie at TwinOaks