Summary

• The Suez Canal, one of the greatest engineering achievements in modern Egypt, has transformed global trade since its completion in 1869.
• Connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas, it serves as the shortest maritime route between Europe and Asia, reducing travel time and fueling economic growth.
• Spanning 193 km (120 miles), the canal is a vital shipping lane, handling 14% of global trade.
• Its strategic significance has influenced geopolitics for over a century, leading to expansions and modernization efforts, including a major 2015 expansion.
• Despite challenges, the Suez Canal remains a crucial gateway for international commerce, shaping the future of maritime trade.

The Suez Canal is the biggest architectural achievement in the history of modern Egypt that acting as a vital waterway that connects different continents, thus creating an unstoppable road of international shipping, navigation, and trade. This waterway portal was able to change the face of existence that becoming the shortest maritime route to Asia from Asia and one of the most heavily used shipping lanes.

Since its completion in 1869 under the supervision of the French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps after ten years, this sea-level waterway was able to connect the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, then runs across the Isthmus of Suez. It became the shortest maritime route between Europe and the countries bordering the Indian and western Pacific oceans this becoming one of the busiest shipping waterways globally. The whole world was not the same, as a new gate was created to offer a shorter and less lengthy alternative to sailing around the southern tip of Africa.

The Suez Canal has long affected the entire civilization and created a positive impact, transforming the entire world into a hub of continuous movement of wealth. The Suez Canal acted as a critical chokepoint that can influence strong regional and global politics, which has always historically maintained control of the canal, and its security is of utmost importance to the international community.

Uncover the Impressive Geology of the Suez Canal

The Isthmus of Suez is a relatively young geographical feature that serves as the only one of its kind land connection between the continents of Africa and Asia. Long ago, these two continents were one massive land. However, around 66 to 2.6 million years ago, geological changes occurred during the Paleogene and Neogene periods, leading to the formation of major fault structures in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba.

This caused the Red Sea to open up and eventually become submerged, forming the two incredible Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba. During the last 2.6 million years, the Quaternary Period saw significant fluctuations in sea levels. As a result, the low-lying lands of isthmus gradually emerged and expanded northward, forming a flat coastal plain. At one stage, the Nile delta extended deep east because of heavy rainfall in the Pleistocene Epoch (2.6 million – 11,700 years).

This led to the formation of two river branches, or distributaries, that led all the way to the northern isthmus. One of these branches reached the narrowest part of the marvelous land of the isthmus and flowed into the Mediterranean Sea, while the other entered the sea about 14.5 km (9 miles) east of Port Said.

Realize the Unique Physiography of the Suez Canal

The Suez Canal, also known as Qanāt al-Suways is a sea-level waterway that runs north to south across the Isthmus of Suez in order to connect the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. The water canal is known to separate the African continent from the Asian continent. It provides the shortest maritime path between the lands around the western Pacific and the Indian Ocean. The Suez Canal is the most used shipping route that extends 193 km (120 miles) between Suez City in the south and Port Said in the north, with raised approach channels leading north of Port Said into the south of Suez and the Mediterranean Sea.

The canal utilizes a number of lakes from north to south, known as Lake Timsah, Lake Manzala, the Bitter Lakes, and Little Bitter Lake. The Suez Canal acts as an open cut without locks; a number of extensive straight lengths occur where there are eight major bends. On the west of the canal is the low-lying Nile River delta, and on the east is the arid and higher Sinai Peninsula.

Learn About the Magnificent History of the Suez Canal

The concept of creating the Suez Canal was first made around 1850 BC when a great irrigation channel was built in the flood times which was known as Wadi Tumelat that is known to be a dry river valley found on the eastern side of the Nile Delta. This canal was enlarged by the Ptolemaic kings through the Bitter Lakes, leading to the Red Sea. A northward arm showcased from lake timsah that reached a former branch of the Nile River which was then extended by the romans under the name Trajan’s Canal that was reopened by the Abbāsid caliphs for military causes in 775 AD plus to encourage and easy the process of trade between the delta and the red sea and not only offer a passage leading to the Mediterranean sea.

During the glorious centuries of 15th, 17th, and 18th the Venetians and the French made a plan to create an epic canal that would lead through the Isthmus will making it possible for the ships to sail directly from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. During the French occupation of Egypt between 1798 and 1801, the French made the first survey across the isthmus, where Napoleon searched and uncovered the remains of the ancient Egyptian canal.

J.M. Le Père, the chief lines-of-communication engineer of Napoleon, calculated all the needed measures to recreate the canal.  More studies were done in 1834 and 1846. Saʿīd Pasha, the viceroy “khedive” of Egypt in 1854 AD began to create the canal, and in 1856, the Suez Canal Company held the right to own and operate this maritime channel for the next 99 years.

Discover the Miraculous Construction of the Suez Canal

The canal, when completed was made of, was 22 meters (72 feet) broad at the bottom, 8 meters (26 feet) deep, and 61 to 91 meters (200 to 300 feet) wide at the top. A number of passing bays were built around every 8 to 10 km (5 to 6 miles) to allow the passing of ships across each other. About  97 million cubic yards of sediments were dug up and dredged. Many renovations and improvements were created in the late 19th and 20th centuries as Over the years, to meet the demands of growing maritime trade and accommodate larger vessels, several expansion and modernization projects have been undertaken.

The passing bays and bypass areas were renovated and enlarged in order to help in the regrouping of giant ships in the congested areas. The most significant of these projects was the 35-km (22-mile) expansion in 2015, which involved widening and deepening certain sections of the canal to create two-way transit to allow the passage of larger ships, which cost about US$9 billion.

The Suez Canal continues to be a vital waterway in the 21st century, and its importance is expected to grow even further with increasing global trade and shipping. Egypt has expressed plans for further development and expansion to meet the demands of the needs of the future. These development projects aim to enhance the canal’s capacity, efficiency, and security, ensuring its continued relevance in the ever-changing dynamics of international trade.

The Genius Operation Process of the Suez Canal

The Suez Canal, since its creation, has played a transformative role in global trade and shipping, which reduced the distance and time required for ships to travel between Europe and Asia, making it one of the busiest and most economically significant waterways on earth. More than 15000 ships across through the Suez Canal every year, which represents 14% of the global economy which taking close to 16 hours for every ship to cross, thus saving weeks and months in time.

This accessibility has fostered a rapid increase in trade and economic cooperation between different cultures and regions, allowing goods to be transported more efficiently and at reduced costs. The canal became fully operational in 1870 with 486 transits a day. With time the size of the ships increased and was able to carry more cargo from 444,000 metric tons (437,000 long tons) in 1870 to 278,400,000 metric tons (274,000,000 long tons) in 1966, to 355,600,000 metric tons (350,000,000 long tons) in 1980, and 139,630,000 metric tons (1,121,163,000 long tons) in 2018. In the mid-1980s, there were around 50 daily transits through the route, but the total yearly tonnage remained at approximately 355.6 million metric tons (or 350 million long tons).

Fast forward to 2018, the number of transits increased to 18,174, carrying a total of about 1,139.6 million metric tons (or 1,121.2 million long tons). With the development of time, many efforts were made to shrink down the time of the transit time, which is handled by two pilots for each, which is controlled by Radar. The development of the canal made it incredibly easy and quick to transport materials and create major shifts in world trade. The shift of trade from Europe to Japan and East Asia in Australasia has caused a decline in canal traffic.

However, there is still some oil transportation, mainly going to India from refineries in Russia, southern Europe, and Algeria. Additionally, the shipment of dry goods like grain, ores, and metals has increased. Recently, container and roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) traffic through the canal has been on the rise, especially heading to the congested ports of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.

The main northbound cargoes include crude petroleum, coal, ores, petroleum products, wood, metals, cereals, oilseeds, and oilseed cake. Southbound trade consists of fertilizers, cement, grains, manufactured metals, and empty oil tankers. The success and major influence of the Suez Canal led to the creation of the Panama Canal, which was constructed by the French.

Finance and international statutes of the Suez Canal

The construction took about 10 years from 1859, and the digging was mostly accomplished by hand through thousands of forced labour; then later, steam shovels and dredgers operated by European workers were integrated into the working process. The waterway was completed around August 1869, and in the same year in 17 November an inauguration ceremony was held. The Suez Canal acted as an Egyptian joint-stock company where the French owned 52%, 44% was owned by Saʾīd Pasha, and a board of directors from 14 countries owned the rest.

Ismail Pasha sold his inherited holdings in 1875 to the British government, where the share was sold for around 500 francs each, and in 1900 each share was valued at more than 3,600 francs. In 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, and the Egyptian government has had total control since then. The main purpose of Suez Canal was to serve an international center for world trade, which proven to be vital for the world shipping business, that’s why the convention of Constantinople was signed in 1888 to state that the canal is open to all of ships from all nation during the times of war and peace.

During the First and Second World Wars, all belligerents were allowed to cross the open canal. The military and naval superiority of the allied forces prevented the ships of Germany and its allies from making any effective use of the Suez Canal.