The most important artificial channel in , stretching from to . Located to the west of the Sinai Peninsula, it marks the border between the two continents. The length of the canal with approach sections reaches 170 km. This shipping channel is included in the version of our site.
Suez Canal originates in Port Said and stretches to the bay of the same name in the Red Sea. Water transport can pass through it in both directions. Prior to the opening of this waterway, the transportation of goods between Africa and Eurasia was carried out only by land. The canal was opened for shipping in the second half of the 19th century.
According to historical facts, a canal was laid here during the 12th Dynasty of the Egyptian pharaohs in order to connect the Nile with the Red Sea. Many subsequent rulers completed the canal, and even the Persian king Darius I, who conquered Egypt. During the reign of Caliph Mansur, the canal was completely filled up. They thought about its restoration in the 16th century AD. during the time of the Ottoman Empire.
The reopening of the canal had an invaluable impact on world trade. During the First and Second World Wars, the Suez Canal was repeatedly invaded and partially destroyed. It is currently one of the main components of the Egyptian budget. Tariffs for the transport of goods through the canal increase every year.
Photo attraction: Suez Canal
How did the idea come about construction of the Suez Canal? More than a hundred years ago, sailors from Hamburg to Bombay, one of the largest ports in eastern India, had to make a long detour. They went around the southern tip of Africa, like the Portuguese Bartolomeu Dias, or followed the footsteps of Magellan to the west and went around the southern tip. South America, (more details: ). More than 9,000 kilometers had to be covered in both directions. In the days of sailing, such a journey took several weeks. There was no other, shorter route from Europe to India. England and France, who captured large overseas colonies back in the Middle Ages, it would be especially advantageous to shorten this long path. The inquisitive gaze of politicians, economists, shipowners and navigators increasingly turned to the Mediterranean Sea, where the Red Sea, like a long snake, stretched from north to south between Africa and Asia. Only a narrow isthmus with many lakes separated the northern coast of the Red Sea from the Mediterranean. As long as this isthmus existed, the Mediterranean Sea was just a big dead end. “What a pity,” thought the shipowners, “that there is no through route between Africa and Arabia.” Then they remembered the Egyptian pharaohs, who 3000 years ago tried to dig in the isthmus. Can't we do the same today?
Suez Joint Stock Company
The idea to build a canal at the northern end of the Red Sea near Suez matured and turned into a project. To implement it in 1846, the British, French and Austrians founded the first Suez Joint Stock Company. Old projects were abandoned and new ones were created. Year after year passed. During this time, a lot of water flowed from the Nile into the sea. People invented nitroglycerin, a balloon with a motor, a bicycle, discovered the new planet Neptune and the germ of anthrax, and the sea route to India has not yet become shorter. In 1854, a French diplomat became the head of this society. Ferdinand Lesseps. He considered the project for the construction of the canal proposed by the Austrian Negrelli, bought from the Egyptian king consent to the construction of the Suez Canal in Egypt and founded a new large joint stock company. Lesseps knew how to pump money.Canal construction
Battalions of workers pitched their tents, and April 2, 1859 the first shovel of earth was taken out. It seemed canal construction it will be simple, - after all, the channel should not have overcome any difference in height on the way; there was no need for locks or ship-lifting devices. Despite this, work progressed slowly. Construction machines, which are now used at construction sites, did not yet exist. The deadly heat made the work excruciating. Died during the construction of the canal 20 thousand workers. Only after 10 years with great splendor - 160 kilometers long, 60 meters wide and 12 meters deep - was finally opened.Canal toll
Nobody mentioned the workers anymore. Now it was necessary to replace as quickly as possible those 400 million francs that had been absorbed by the construction of the canal. This venture has paid off. If in the year the canal was opened, 486 ships passed through the new waterway, then in forty years their number increased tenfold. And in 1956, their number reached 15,000. Collectors of the joint-stock company sat at the gates of the canal and collected canal fee. The stock price of the Suez joint-stock company has been increasing.Gate of the Suez Canal
England was very pleased and began to make themselves at home in the canal zone. First, she drove out the French and Austrians, her former companions. She then built coal bunkers along the canal to supply her ships with fuel. Soon joined them a long line of military fortifications. "Bab-el-Man-deb" - " Gate of death"- so the Arabs have long called Suez Canal Gate. The Suez Canal Zone became one of the largest bases of the British Empire.Nationalization of the Suez Canal
1952 was a year of great national awakening for the people of Egypt. The people overthrew the government king Farouk, supported by England, and proclaimed a republic. At its head stood Gamal Abdel Nasser. In 1956, at a mass meeting, he announced nationalization of the Suez Canal and demanded that the British leave his zone. Through armed intervention, Great Britain and France tried to save their shattered positions, delay the fall of the colonial system and turn the wheel of history back. But the Egyptian people, fighting for a just cause, won. Descendants of workers who took part in construction of the Suez Canal ah, they took the most important waterway between Europe and Asia in their own hands. Shareholders of the Suez Canal will no longer be able to raise capital by charging tolls through the canal. All proceeds from it will be used to improve the welfare of the whole nation.Suez Canal- navigable lockless sea canal in the north-east of Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The Suez Canal is the shortest waterway between the ports of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans (8-15 thousand km less than the route around Africa).
The Suez Canal Zone is considered to be a conditional border between two continents: Asia and Africa. Main ports of entry: Port Said from the Mediterranean and Suez from the Red Sea. The Suez Canal runs along the Isthmus of Suez in its lowest and narrowest part, crossing a series of lakes and the Menzala lagoon.
The idea of digging a canal through the Isthmus of Suez arose in ancient times. Ancient historians report that the Theban pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom era tried to build a canal connecting the right branch of the Nile with the Red Sea.
The first reliable historical evidence of the connection of the Mediterranean and Red Seas by a canal dates back to the reign of Pharaoh Necho II (late 7th - early 6th century BC).
The expansion and improvement of the canal was carried out by order of the Persian king Darius I, who conquered Egypt, and later by Ptolemy Philadelphus (first half of the 3rd century BC). At the end of the era of the pharaohs in Egypt, the canal fell into a state of decline.
However, after the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs, the canal was restored again in 642, but in 776 it was filled up to direct trade through the main regions of the Caliphate.
Plans for the restoration of the canal, developed later (in 1569 by order of the vizier of the Ottoman Empire Mehmed Sokollu and by the French during the Egyptian expedition of Bonaparte in 1798-1801), were not implemented.
The idea of building the Suez Canal arose again in the second half of the 19th century. The world during this period experienced an era of colonial division. North Africa, the closest part of the continent to Europe, attracted the attention of the leading colonial powers - France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain. Egypt was the subject of rivalry between Britain and France.
The nationalization of the channel served as a pretext for the Anglo-French-Israeli aggression against Egypt at the end of October 1956. The Suez Canal suffered significant damage, traffic on it was interrupted and resumed only on April 24, 1957, after the completion of the cleaning of the canal.
As a result of the Arab-Israeli "six-day war" of 1967, navigation through the Suez Canal was again interrupted, since the canal zone actually turned into a front line separating Egyptian and Israeli troops, and during the October 1973 war - into an area of active hostilities.
The annual damage caused by inaction to the Suez Canal was estimated at 4-5 billion dollars.
In 1974, after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Suez Canal zone, Egypt began clearing, restoring and reconstructing the canal. On June 5, 1975, the Suez Canal was reopened to navigation.
In 1981, the first stage of the project for the reconstruction of the canal was completed, which made it possible to navigate through it tankers with a deadweight of up to 150 thousand tons (upon completion of the second stage - up to 250 thousand tons) and cargo ships with a deadweight of up to 370 thousand tons.
In 2005, a new reconstruction of the Suez Canal was started. The reconstruction plan provides for the deepening of the fairway, which will allow more than 90% of the existing international merchant fleet to pass through the canal. From 2010, supertankers with a displacement of up to 360 thousand tons will be able to navigate the canal. Today, the length of the canal itself is 162.25 km, with sea approaches from Port Said to Port Taufik - 190.25 km. Width at a depth of 11 meters 200-210 m. Depth along the fairway 22.5 m.
The modern symbol of the United States, the Statue of Liberty, was originally planned to be installed in Port Said under the name "Light of Asia" (The Light Of Asia), but the then government of the country decided that it was too expensive for the state to transport the structure from France and install it.
Currently, about 10% of all world shipping is carried out through the Suez Canal. On average, 48 ships pass through the Suez Canal per day, the average time for passing the canal is about 14 hours.
According to the existing rules, ships of all countries that are not at war with Egypt can pass through Suez. The operating rules prohibit the appearance in it only of ships with nuclear power plants.
To date, the Suez Canal is the main budget-forming project of Egypt. According to a number of experts, the channel gives the country more funds than oil production, and much more than the rapidly developing tourism infrastructure allows to receive today.
The operation of the canal is one of the main sources of foreign exchange earnings for the Egyptian treasury. According to some experts, the canal provides the country with more funds than oil production, and much more than a rapidly developing tourism infrastructure.
The monthly volume of fees for passage through the canal is 372 million dollars.
In the 2007-2008 financial year, the Suez Canal brought in more than $5 billion to Egypt, which was a record figure in the entire history of the canal.
In fiscal year 2008-2009, shipping through the Suez Canal decreased by 8.2%, while Egypt's income from operating the canal fell by 7.2%. Experts attribute this to the consequences of the global financial crisis, as well as the actions of pirates off the coast of Somalia.
The Suez Canal, قناة السويس (Arabic, pronounced "kana as-Suwais"), Suez canal (English) is the shortest waterway between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean region in the Atlantic Ocean. The canal is located in Egypt and connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas between Port Said (Būr Sa "īd) on the Mediterranean Sea and Suez (al-Suways) on the Red Sea.
The geographical position of the channel in the center of international maritime communications connecting the oil-producing region of the Near and Middle East with Western Europe, providing its links with Asia, Australia and East Africa
The Suez Canal Zone is considered a conditional border between two continents, Africa and Eurasia. The Suez Canal allows water transport to pass in both directions between Europe and Asia without going around Africa, thereby reducing the distance by 8-15 thousand km. Prior to the opening of the canal, transportation was carried out by unloading ships and by land transport between the Mediterranean and Red Seas.
In the Foto
The total length of the Suez Canal, including the approach sections, is 174 km. Part of the route runs along the fairway in the lakes Timsakh, Bolshoi and Maloy Gorky, along the bottom of which sea channels are laid. Including these lakes, the length of the route is 192 km, including the following sections: 78 km from Port Said to Ismailia and 84 km from Ismailia to Port Taufik (Suez). The smallest width of the channel is 300 meters (the width of the fairway between the buoys is 180 meters). The maximum permitted draft of ships is 53 feet, the depth of the channel is 20 meters. The 2005 reconstruction to deepen the canal made it possible for supertankers with a displacement of up to 360,000 tons to pass through it.
Currently, about 10% of all world shipping is carried out through the Suez Canal. On average, up to 50 ships pass through the canal per day. The speed of ships, depending on the tonnage and category, is limited to 11-16 km / h, the average time for passing the canal is 14 hours.
In the Foto Maersk Line's Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, currently the largest container ship in the world, freely uses the Suez Canal for its maritime travel.
The history of the Suez Canal dates back to ancient times. It is known that the creation of a canal connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas took place already during the reign of Pharaoh Necho II (late 7th - early 6th century BC). Subsequent rulers of Egypt also supported the maintenance and improvement of the canal, which continued until the end of the pharaonic era, after which the canal was abandoned and fell into a state of decline. In 642, it was restored, but in 776 it again ceased to function and was finally filled up by order of Caliph Mansur, who did not want to allow the diversion of trade routes from the center of the Caliphate.
Location of the Suez Canal on the geographic map of the world
More than a thousand years later, in 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte, while in Egypt, became interested in the possibility of building a canal connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas. At the same time, the commission, headed by engineer Leper, came to grips with the creation of a construction project, which, however, was not subsequently realized. The project was completed at the end of 1800, when Napoleon was already in Europe, having lost hope of conquering Egypt and therefore abandoned the idea of building a canal.
The total number of employees for the entire construction period is more than 1.5 million people
On this, the idea of creating a canal did not disappear, since at that time Egypt remained the subject of interest of the leading colonial countries, primarily France and Great Britain, due to its territorial location close to Europe relative to the rest of the continent. In 1846, the international society "Société d'etudes du canal de Suez" was formed, also engaged in research on the possible construction of a canal between the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Finally, in 1854, the French diplomat and businessman Ferdinand Marie Lesseps received from the Egyptian ruler a concession to build the Suez Canal on favorable terms. The Suez Canal General Company, which he created, led the construction, with Egypt (44%) and France (53%) becoming the main shareholders of the company.
In the Foto Suez Canal in the last century
Construction of the canal began in April 1859. The main work was carried out by the Egyptians, who were forcibly recruited 60 thousand people a month, as well as by Europeans. The number of people employed in construction at one time reached 30,000 people. Due to the difficult working conditions, as well as the geographical and climatic features of the region, the death rate among workers was high. The work lasted more than 10 years, which is almost twice as long as originally planned; the total cost of the Suez Canal ended up being 576 million francs.
The canal was opened for navigation on November 17, 1869. Significant expenses for the construction of the Suez Canal complicated the economic situation in Egypt. Taking advantage of this, in 1875 the British government acquired a controlling stake in the canal. Egypt was removed from government as well as from profits. England became the actual owner of the channel, which was even more aggravated after the British occupation of Egypt in 1882.
The July Revolution of 1952 led to the expulsion of the English royal dynasty from the country. In 1953, Egypt was proclaimed a republic, and on July 26, 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the canal. This was the pretext for the Anglo-French-Israeli aggression against Egypt at the end of October 1956, as a result of which the Suez Canal was significantly damaged and the movement of maritime transport was interrupted. Shipping was again suspended for periods of hostilities in 1967 and 1973. In 1975, the canal was reopened to navigation, and the process of its restoration also started, including a large-scale reconstruction of the Suez Canal, which began in 2005.
To date, the Suez Canal is one of the main budget-forming projects in Egypt. Transit duties levied by Egypt make up a significant share of government budget revenue along with oil production and tourism. For example, in May 2013, the income of the Suez Canal amounted to 438.1 million US dollars.
According to the International Convention of 1888, ships of all countries that are not at war with Egypt can use the right of passage through the Suez Canal. However, due to the conflict in Syria, in August 2013, the Suez Canal was closed to warships passing for the purpose of fighting against Syria, as Egyptian Defense Minister General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made a statement. He also added that Egypt will not allow the transformation of the Suez Canal into a corridor for the attack of any Arab state.
Currently, under the bottom of the Suez Canal runs a road tunnel connecting the Sinai and continental Africa. In 1998, a transmission line was built over the canal. It is also worth mentioning the Hosni Mubarak automobile bridge crossing the Suez Canal, built in 2001. The 70 m high bridge is part of a highway between the cities of Port Said and Ismailia, and in fact connects Africa with Asia. Another interesting project, opened in the same year 2001, is the El Ferdan Railway Bridge, the longest swing bridge in the world, connecting the eastern bank of the Suez Canal with the Sinai Peninsula.
The Suez Canal has been and remains one of the busiest and most relevant shipping lanes in the world. It connects Western Europe with areas of the Near and Middle East, as well as with East Africa, Asia and Australia. Up to 50 ships pass through the canal every day, and due to the high density of maritime transport, two-way traffic is provided at four points in the canal. On August 9, 2013, 68 ships crossed the Suez Canal with a total load of 4.8 million tons, setting a new record for the most cargo sent through it in one day.
The Suez Canal is an artificial sea route in Egypt that separates Eurasia from Africa. For almost 150 years, it has been used for the shortest transportation of goods from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean.
It is very easy to find the Suez Canal on the map. It connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. On one side of the Suez Canal is the port city of Port Said (on the Mediterranean coast), and on the other - Suez (on the Red Sea coast). It "cuts" the narrowest part of the Isthmus of Suez.
Since 1956, the Suez Canal has been wholly owned by Egypt. Prior to that, it was owned by the General Organization of the Suez Canal, owned by France and England.
Dimensions
In different sources you can find different information about the length, width and depth of the Suez Canal. According to the latest data, its length, including the approach sections and the track, is approximately 193 kilometers. Throughout its length, the Suez Canal has an unequal width and depth. According to official information, at a depth of 11 meters, the width is 205-225 meters. In 2010, the maximum depth was 24 meters.
Price per pass
The rules and price of sailing are determined by Egypt. Its budget largely depends on the Suez Canal, because every year the profit from using this waterway is about five billion dollars. The passage through the Suez Canal is the most preferable for ship owners, since when using an alternative route that goes around Africa, the distance increases by 8 thousand kilometers, respectively, there is a large loss of time. In addition, there is a chance to run into Somali pirates. The cost of passage through the canal depends on the weight of the cargo, the draft of the vessel, the height of the cargo on the deck, the date of application and other factors, and is 8-12 dollars per ton. The total cost of passing a ship with a large load can reach a million dollars.
The role of the channel in the life of Egypt
The Suez Canal is of great importance for the global cargo transportation market. About 20% of all transported oil is transported through it and about 10% of all world trade cargo transportation is carried out. In addition, tourists from all over the world come to see and take photos of the Suez Canal, which also helps to increase the budget of Egypt.
Modernization of the Suez Canal
After the Suez Canal began to belong to Egypt, the government began to consider its expansion as one of its main tasks, because its original depth was 8 meters and its width was 21 meters.
Now the government plans to create a new channel, which will run next to the main one. Its length will be 72 kilometers. This will allow you to extract even more profit due to the increase in the throughput of the channel. The expansion should reduce the waiting time to pass the track to three hours (now it is 11 hours) and triple the number of ships simultaneously passing through the canal. In addition, there will be a huge number of new jobs. The expansion is planned to spend several billion dollars.
workarounds
Due to the high cost of passage, transport ship owners are looking for alternative ways to transport goods. The Israeli government offered to build a bypass route through its territory. This is the so-called “shunting” of the channel. However, this route cannot be made completely water, so there are plans to build railway track between the city of Eilat and the Mediterranean coast.
Rosatomflot has also proposed replacing the Suez Canal. Presumably, the Northern Sea Route, which connects Europe with Asia, can be used as a replacement. Due to melting arctic ice this route has been open for a longer time and, perhaps, in the near future, it will be possible to transport goods through the territory of Russia.
Construction history
The idea of laying the shortest route to the waters of the Red Sea visited the inhabitants of Egypt many centuries ago. The first attempts were made by the Theban pharaohs during the era of the Middle Kingdom. They wanted to connect the Red Sea with one of the tributaries of the Nile.
The history of the creation of the canal itself began at the end of the 7th - beginning of the 6th century BC. Evidence of Herodotus was found, which says that Pharaoh Necho II began the construction, but Darius I built the canal to the end a century later. After that, things didn't go very well. The reconstruction of the path took place in the III century BC under the leadership of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The canal was deepened several centuries later by order of Emperor Trajan, during his reign in Africa. In the VIII century (during the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs), despite the fact that this transport route was actively used, it was covered up.
In 1854, French businessman Ferdinand de Lesseps decides to reopen the history of the Suez Canal. Since at that moment France had a lot of influence in Egypt, he was allowed to start this process. Construction work started in 1859, the canal was opened 10 years later. A large number of Egyptians were involved in forced labor, many people died from hard labor, dehydration and disease.
As a result of the construction, the country's economy was seriously affected, which forced Ismail Pasha to sell his part of the shares of the World Organization of the Suez Canal to the British. In 1882, a British military base was located in this place.
