Suez Canal: the great channel of the East

In March 2021, a freighter ran aground in the Suez Canal, and the eyes of the world focused on the Suez Canal.

Let's take a look at the Suez Canal.

More than 100 years ago, Marx called the Suez Canal "the great waterway of the East". After the completion of the Suez Canal, the voyage from Asian ports to Europe has been greatly shortened, which can be shortened by more than 8000-10000 km.

The Suez Canal was built and navigable in 1869. It is a sea-level waterway that runs through the isthmus of Suez in Egypt, connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, and provides the nearest route from Europe to the land near the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific Ocean. It is one of the most frequently used air routes in the world. It is also the boundary between Asia and Africa. It is the main channel for people from Asia to Africa and Europe.

The canal starts from port said in the north to the city of Suez in the south, and digs into the Mediterranean Sea in the north of port said to the south of Suez. With the completion of the Suez Canal, the African Peninsula has become an African continent. Egypt crosses Asia and Africa, and the trade in southwest Asia, northeast Africa and southern Europe is more busy.

The dredging of the new Suez Canal was officially completed on July 29, 2015 and officially opened on August 6, 2015. It takes about 15 hours for ships to cross the Suez Canal.

The canal allows north-south water transportation between Europe and Asia without having to bypass the Cape of good hope at the southern tip of Africa, saving a lot of voyage. A voyage from London port in England or Marseille port in France to Bombay port in India can shorten 43% and 56% of the total voyage respectively through the Suez Canal than around the Cape of good hope. The distance around the Cape of good hope between Jeddah port in Saudi Arabia and konstancha port in the Black Sea is 11771 miles, while the distance through the Suez Canal is only 1698 miles, saving 86% of the distance. Before the opening of the Suez Canal, people sometimes transported goods from ships between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea by land. Compared with bypassing the Cape of good hope in Africa, it runs through the isthmus of Suez from the lowest part, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Along the way, the dried up marshes and depressions such as big and small kuhu lakes are used as navigation channels. From port said to port Taufik, the length is 161 km, and the total length of the reach into the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea is 173 km. The river is 160-200m wide on the surface and 60-100m wide on the bottom. It can pass seagoing ships with draft of 11.6m, full load of 65000 tons or empty load of 150000 tons. The average passing time is 15 hours.

After the canal was opened to navigation, the voyage from Western Europe to the Indian Ocean was 5500-8000 km shorter than that by detouring the Cape of good hope in Africa. The canal is located in the junction of Europe, Asia and Africa, and has an important strategic position. The number of ships and their freight volume are the first in all the international canals, and the oil and metal and their products going north and South are the most important. After the first phase of the project was completed in 1980, the river surface was widened to 365 meters, enabling two-way passage of 16 meters draft, 150000 tons loaded or 350000 tons unloaded seagoing vessels.

The main goods transported northward are crude oil and petroleum products, coal, ores and metals, processed metals, timber, oilseeds and oilseed cakes, and cereals. The goods transported to the South include cement, fertilizer, metal materials and grain.

7% of the world's seaborne trade is through the Suez Canal, of which 35% are ports along the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, 20% are ports in India and Southeast Asia, and 39% are ports in the Far East.

Many goods of gmtlight are transported to France, Germany and other European countries through the Suez Canal. For a small company, the Suez canal also has its value. Therefore, the Suez Canal is about everyone, worthy of the evaluation of "the great waterway of the East".