Scribd
Upload
132 views3 pages

Seuz Canal

The Suez Canal is a 193 km artificial waterway in Egypt that connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Constructed between 1859-1869, it provides a direct shipping route between Europe and Asia, reducing travel distance by thousands of kilometers. The canal is owned and operated by the Suez Canal Authority and was expanded in 2015 to allow for two-way traffic and double ship capacity. It remains a critical international shipping lane.

Uploaded by

Charm Lacay Sadicon
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
132 views3 pages

Seuz Canal

The Suez Canal is a 193 km artificial waterway in Egypt that connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Constructed between 1859-1869, it provides a direct shipping route between Europe and Asia, reducing travel distance by thousands of kilometers. The canal is owned and operated by the Suez Canal Authority and was expanded in 2015 to allow for two-way traffic and double ship capacity. It remains a critical international shipping lane.

Uploaded by

Charm Lacay Sadicon
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Open main menu

Wikipedia Search

Suez Canal

Read in another language

Watch this page

Edit

The Suez Canal (Arabic: ‫ قناة السويس‬qanāt as-suwēs) is a sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the
Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez. Constructed by the Suez Canal Company
between 1859 and 1869, it was officially opened on 17 November 1869. The canal offers watercraft a
more direct route between the North Atlantic and northern Indian oceans via the Mediterranean and
Red seas, thus avoiding the South Atlantic and southern Indian oceans and thereby reducing the journey
distance from the Arabian Sea to, for example, London by approximately 8,900 kilometres (5,500 mi).[1]
It extends from the northern terminus of Port Said to the southern terminus of Port Tewfik at the city of
Suez. Its length is 193.30 km (120.11 mi), including its northern and southern access channels. In 2012,
17,225 vessels traversed the canal (an average of 47 per day).[2]

Suez Canal

SuezCanal-EO.JPG

Specifications

Length

193.3 km (120.1 miles)

Maximum boat beam

77.5 m (254 ft 3 in)

Minimum boat draft

20.1 m (66 ft)

Minimum boat air draft

68 m (223 ft)

Locks
None

Navigation authority

Suez Canal Authority

History

Original owner

Suez Canal Company (Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez)

Construction began

25 September 1859

Date completed

17 November 1869

Geography

Start point

Port Said

End point

Port Tewfik, Suez

The southern terminus of the Suez Canal at Suez on the Gulf of Suez (Red Sea)

The original canal was a single-lane waterway with passing locations in the Ballah Bypass and the Great
Bitter Lake.[3] It contains no locks system, with seawater flowing freely through it. In general, the canal
north of the Bitter Lakes flows north in winter and south in summer. South of the lakes, the current
changes with the tide at Suez.[4]

The Canal was owned by the United Kingdom and France until 1956 when Gamal Abdel Nasser
nationalized it, an event which led to the Suez Crisis.[5] The canal is owned and maintained by the Suez
Canal Authority[6] (SCA) of Egypt. 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".[7]
In August 2014, construction was launched to expand and widen the Ballah Bypass for 35 km (22 mi) to
speed the canal's transit time. The expansion was planned to double the capacity of the Suez Canal from
49 to 97 ships a day.[8] At a cost of $8.4 billion, this project was funded with interest-bearing investment
certificates issued exclusively to Egyptian entities and individuals. The "New Suez Canal", as the
expansion was dubbed, was opened with great fanfare in a ceremony on 6 August 2015.[9]

On 24 February 2016, the Suez Canal Authority officially opened the new side channel. This side channel,
located at the northern side of the east extension of the Suez Canal, serves the East Terminal for
berthing and unberthing vessels from the terminal. As the East Container Terminal is located on the
Canal itself, before the construction of the new side channel it was not possible to berth or unberth
vessels at the terminal while the convoy was running.[10]

Precursors

History

Layout and operation

Alternative routes

Environmental impact

Suez Canal Economic Zone

See also

Notes

References

External links

Last edited 15 days ago by Monkbot

Wikipedia

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted.

Terms of UsePrivacyDesktop

You might also like