The Suez Canal, a sea-level waterway running north-south across the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt, connects the Mediterranean and the Red Seas. 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.
Map of the Suez Canal in relation to Egypt.
Why is the Suez Canal Important?
Due to its speed and efficiency, the canal is widely used by modern ships traveling from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean. It offers vessels a direct route between the North Atlantic and northern Indian oceans via the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, avoiding the South Atlantic and southern Indian oceans and reducing the journey distance from the Arabian Sea to London by approximately 8,900 kilometres (5,500 mi), to 10 days at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) or 8 days at 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph).
Who Controls the Suez Canal?
Geological and Physical Features
The Isthmus of Suez, the sole land bridge between the continents of Africa and Asia, is of relatively recent geologic origin. Both continents once formed a single large continental mass, but during the Paleogene and Neogene periods (about 66 to 2.6 million years ago) the great fault structures of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba developed, with the opening and subsequent drowning of the Red Sea trough as far as the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba.
The canal extends 193 km (120 miles) between Port Said (Būr Saʿīd) in the north and Suez in the south, with dredged approach channels north of Port Said, into the Mediterranean, and south of Suez. The canal does not take the shortest route across the isthmus, which is only 121 km (75 miles). Instead, it utilizes several lakes: from north to south, Lake Manzala (Buḥayrat al-Manzilah), Lake Timsah (Buḥayrat al-Timsāḥ), and the Bitter Lakes-Great Bitter Lake (Al-Buḥayrah al-Murrah al-Kubrā) and Little Bitter Lake (Al-Buḥayrah al-Murrah al-Ṣughrā).
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Topographically, the Isthmus of Suez is not uniform. There are three shallow water-filled depressions: Lake Manzala, Lake Timsah, and the Bitter Lakes. The isthmus is composed of marine sediments, coarser sands, and gravels deposited in the early periods of abundant rainfall, Nile alluvium (especially to the north), and windblown sands.
How Has the Suez Canal Changed Throughout History?
Since ancient times, the Suez area has had fundamental importance as a meeting point for trade and connections between Asia and Africa. Many efforts were made in various historical periods to connect the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, separated only by a thin strip of land.
History records that Egypt was the first country to dig an artificial canal through its land to connect the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea via the Nile and its branches. As historical records show, the first to envision connecting the two seas-albeit indirectly through the Nile and its branches-was Pharaoh Senusret III of the Twelfth Dynasty. His aim was to strengthen trade and facilitate transportation between the East and the West.
The project to open such an important waterway, it seems to have been made by Pharaoh Necho II. The Suez Canal is considered to be an artificial canal built by a French Egyptian hand that links the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea and the main idea of the construction of the canal goes back to the time of the Pharaohs and then the Islamic period and then in our present time.
Ancient Canals
The first canal was built around 250 B.C. and called “Pharaohs’ canal”, a work that allowed the transit of large cargo and military boats. According to some historical documents, it seems that the canal was used for more than five centuries, and later, due to a probable silting up, it was abandoned. A navigable canal that connected the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea and that resisted for seven hundred years.
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In 610 BCE, the canal became filled with silt, forming an earthen barrier that separated the Bitter Lakes from the Red Sea due to long periods of neglect. Pharaoh Necho II, also known as Nechos, exerted great effort to reopen the canal. He succeeded in connecting the Nile to the Bitter Lakes but failed to link them to the Red Sea.
Later, in 510 BCE, Darius I, King of Persia, took an interest in the canal and restored the link between the Nile and the Bitter Lakes. However, like his predecessor, he was only able to connect the Bitter Lakes to the Red Sea through small channels that were navigable only during the Nile's flood season. It was Ptolemy II, in 285 BCE, who overcame all the challenges his predecessors faced.
The Romans saw the strategic and commercial value in reusing the canal for navigation. During the Byzantine era, around 400 CE, neglect struck again. Silt accumulated in the canal, rendering it completely unfit for navigation. In 641 CE, Amr ibn al-As restored navigation in the canal and named it the "Canal of the Commander of the Faithful." He also considered digging a direct canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
Later, in 760 CE, the Abbasid Caliph Abu Ja'far al-Mansur ordered the canal to be filled in to prevent it from being used to transport supplies to the rebellious people of Mecca and Medina. As a result, maritime navigation between the two seas ceased for nearly eleven centuries, during which Egypt relied on overland routes for trade.
Modern Construction
Finally, in 1854 Ferdinand de Lesseps, of the Suez Canal Studies Company, presented a new project for the construction of the present canal, and after years dedicated to raising the funds, in April 1858 the construction work began. The canal was opened for navigation ten years later, on 17th November 1869.
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The Emperor showed great interest in reconstructing the passage between the two seas, considering it a possible alternative to the sea route to the Indies.
When first opened in 1869, the canal consisted of a channel barely 8 metres (26 feet) deep, 22 metres (72 feet) wide at the bottom, and 61 to 91 metres (200 to 300 feet) wide at the surface. To allow ships to pass each other, passing bays were built every 8 to 10 km (5 to 6 miles). Construction involved the excavation and dredging of 74 million cubic metres (97 million cubic yards) of sediments.
Major improvements began in 1876, and, after successive widenings and deepenings, the canal by the 1960s had a minimum width of 55 metres (179 feet) at a depth of 10 metres (33 feet) along its banks and a channel depth of 12 metres (40 feet) at low tide.
How Was the Suez Canal’s Construction Paid For?
On November 30, 1854, the first concession decree was issued, granting Ferdinand de Lesseps the right to establish a company to dig the Suez Canal. The Universal Company of the Maritime Canal of Suez was established on December 15, 1858, with a capital of 200 million francs (equivalent to 8 million pounds sterling), divided into 400,000 shares, each valued at 500 francs.
The company allocated a specific number of shares to each country. Egypt was assigned 92,136 shares, while England, the United States, Austria, and Russia were allocated a combined total of 85,506 shares. However, these countries categorically refused to participate in the subscription. As a result of this refusal, Egypt was forced to borrow 28 million francs (approximately 1,120,000 pounds) at a high interest rate in order to purchase its allocated shares.
These shares represented 44% of the total company shares and entitled Egypt to 31% of the company’s total profits. Later, on April 17, 1880, the Egyptian government ceded its right to receive 15% of the company’s profits to the French Crédit Foncier Bank in exchange for 22 million francs. This move placed the financial control of the Suez Canal Company firmly in the hands of France and Britain, with France owning 56% of the shares and Britain 44%.
An inability to pay his bank debts led Said Pasha's successor, Isma'il Pasha, in 1875 to sell his 44% share in the canal for £4,000,000 ($19.2 million), equivalent to £432 million to £456 million ($540 million to $570 million) in 2019, to the government of the United Kingdom.
What is the International Status of the Suez Canal?
Between May and September of 1882, following the ‘Urabi Revolt, British forces occupied Egypt and took control of the company’s facilities. On January 3, 1883, Lord Granville issued a statement to the major powers declaring that the British government intended to withdraw its troops from Egypt as soon as the country’s conditions allowed.
Eventually, an agreement was signed in Constantinople between France, Austria-Hungary, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire. In his historic speech in Alexandria on July 26, 1956, President Gamal Abdel Nasser announced the decision to nationalize the Suez Canal.
Article One of the decree stated: "The Universal Company of the Maritime Suez Canal (a joint-stock Egyptian company) is hereby nationalized. All its assets, rights, and obligations are transferred to the state. Shareholders and founding partners shall be compensated for their shares and holdings at their market value based on the closing price on the Paris Stock Exchange prior to the implementation of this law.
The Suez Canal is managed by the Suez Canal Authority, which is an independent public body reporting directly to the Prime Minister. It is responsible for overseeing the affairs of the Suez Canal facility, managing, operating, maintaining, and improving it.
How Many Ships Use the Suez Canal?
Today the canal is about 163 km long and is from 50 to 110 m wide; it allows the transit of ships with full load capacity up to 150,000 tons.
Timeline of Key Events in Suez Canal History
The table below summarizes some of the most important events in the history of the Suez Canal:
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 250 B.C. | Construction of "Pharaohs’ canal" |
| 610 BCE | The canal became filled with silt |
| 1854 | Ferdinand de Lesseps obtained a concession from Sa'id Pasha |
| 1858 | The Universal Company of the Maritime Canal of Suez was established |
| 1869 | The Suez Canal was officially opened |
| 1956 | President Gamal Abdel Nasser announced the decision to nationalize the Suez Canal |
The Suez Canal is unique in being a sea-level canal, with only slight variations in average water levels. To protect the canal banks from erosion caused by ship-generated currents and waves, stone revetments and steel sheet piles are used, with designs tailored to the soil conditions of each area.
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