Suez Canal 1 of 5

We travelled through the Suez Canal last year but this year we entered the canal as the sun was rising and there was so much more that we saw. At different points along the canal we noticed maintenance teams working to strengthen the canal banks so that there is less opportunity for the erosion of soil from the canal banks to occur. Soil erosion silts up the canal which can block the passageways and delay the flow of vessels through the canal. 

This year we saw an increased number of heavy earth-moving machinery and huge trucks that are employed in constructing a new dual-traffic tunnel so that vehicles can cross the canal by passing under it through these tunnels. 

At present, the canal can be crossed via a very high suspension bridge, a railway bridge, punts that ferry vehicles across the canal and several portable floating roadways which are maneuvered into place to allow traffic to cross over the waterway at different spots. When these new tunnels are completed they will be more confident and efficient than the ferry crossing and floating bridge platforms.

The Suez Canal is a 192 kilometres long man-made waterway, which connects the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea, to the Mediterranean Sea.  The canal separates the bulk of Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula and it is an important international navigation canal that provides the shortest route between the east and the west.

The Suez Canal Company led by the clever French engineer, Ferdinand de Lesseps took 10 years to complete this massive project.

It is estimated that 1.5 million people worked on the Suez project. Many were slave labourers and tens of thousands died from cholera and other causes whilst working on the canal's construction. This ambitious project was funded by British, French and American investors and the total cost of the Suez blew out to $100 million, double the original estimated cost.

In 2014 an $8 billion expansion project to widen the Suez from 61 metres to 312 metres over a distance of 18 kilometres, was undertaken by the Egyptian government. It took a year to complete which is amazing - the advancement of modern machinery and computer technology  since the canal's inception made this possible. If you look at the map you can see where the widening of the canal has been completed. Note also that part of the canal traverses through a large lake area.

Today this upgrade means that ships can pass in both directions simultaneously. An average of 50 ships navigate the Suez Canal each day with more than 300 million tons of goods being moved through this strategic waterway each year.