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The Suez Canal is one of the most important artificial inland waterways for international trade. Its realization was not easy: logistical problems, the cost of manpower and equipment, and the weather conditions hindered the process. It is a grandiose work, a project born to simplify, in terms of time and money, maritime trade flows among three continents. About 12% of global trade passes through this canal, with a very high daily traffic of ships.
How was the Suez Canal born? And why was it digged? Finally, what are the advantages and disadvantages of such a waterway between East and West?
Suez Canal: about its genesis
The genesis of this “shortcut” between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea was neither simple nor immediate. Since ancient times, there had been a need for a passage capable of connecting Asia and the Mediterranean basin. That was due to the absence of a direct sea route that could facilitate the transport of goods between the two continents.
The fastest way for trading in Europe involved crossing the Red Sea by ship and then the desert, until reaching the Nile River. There, merchants would embark in ships again and finally get to the Mediterranean Sea.
The excavation works for the canal did not start before 1859. An agreement between the French diplomat Ferdinand Lesseps and the then governor of Egypt Muhammad Said pasha in 1854 allowed the former to found the Suez Canal Company. The canal remained in French hands until its nationalization in 1956 at the behest of Egyptian President Gamal ‘Abd al-Naser.
Works lasted ten long years: the Suez Canal was officially inaugurated in 1869, but the price to pay, also in human terms, was high. The workers hired for this project were tens of thousands and, among these, many were victims of fatigue; the long hours of work in the sun, the shortage of water and the poor hygienic-sanitary conditions favoured the spread of diseases such as cholera.
“Shortcut” between two seas
Therefore, the construction of the canal was full of obstacles, but the economic advantages from which Egypt subsequently benefited were conspicuous. This is simple to imagine because the artificial passage offers a decidedly less expensive and time-consuming alternative for cargo ships compared to the Cape of Good Hope route, which involves the circumnavigation of the African continent.
In fact, the Suez Canal offers more immediate access between Asia and Europe. The canal stretches 193 km from Port Said, on the Mediterranean Sea, to the Gulf of Suez (which, in turn, is the door to the Red Sea). For the construction of the canal, the presence of some natural lakes was exploited, which is why its final route appears a little more convoluted and does not cross the area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Suez in a straight line.
With the growing flow of trade, and after the costly accident of the cargo ship Ever Given in 2021, some projects to expand and branch the Suez Canal have been launched.
The main ones started in 2014 and in 2021. The former aimed both at branching out the Suez Canal, through the excavation of a parallel waterway to it, and at creating adjacent industrial zones; whereas the latter, whose works proceeds in parallel with the previous ones, provides for an expansion of the canal’s flow rate.
A fragile marine ecosystem
Unfortunately, the excavation of the Suez Canal has had a negative impact on the marine ecosystem of the Mediterranean, which has been invaded by alien species from the seas of Asia and Africa.
Researchers have documented a worrying bio-invasion in the Mediterranean Sea due to the presence of a direct connection with the Red Sea; in addition, the expansion of the Suez Canal has further favoured the spread of alien marine species, often dangerous and harmful to human health as well.
A 2015 scientific work: ‘Double trouble’: the expansion of the Suez Canal and marine bio-invasions in the Mediterranean Sea, mentions the detection of about 700 non-indigenous species which have arrived in the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal since 1869.
Ever Given: an expensive accident
Finally, a mention, albeit brief, should be addressed to the recent accident involving the ship Ever Given in 2021. It caused damage quantifiable in about two billion dollars resulting both from the ship’s unblocking operations and the damage compensation to the cargo companies hit by the accident.
The gigantic container ship had, in fact, ran aground in the canal, thus blocking the passage and preventing the other ships from crossing the waterway.
The blockage lasted 6 long days, turning into one of the most serious maritime accidents of the century: 400 ships were affected by the accident. Some companies even had to change their plans and opt for the Cape of Good Hope route to get to destination.
That accident, not far in time, is clear evidence of the crucial role played by the Suez Canal in international trade flows.
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