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.

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.

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