Suez Canal

The Suez Canal cuts through 193 kilometers of Egyptian territory, connecting Port Said on the Mediterranean to Suez on the Red Sea. By eliminating the 7,000-kilometer voyage around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, it reduced shipping times between Europe and Asia by weeks—and transformed Egypt into one of the most strategically significant territories on earth. Today, approximately 12-15% of global trade transits this artificial waterway, including roughly 30% of global container traffic and substantial volumes of oil and liquefied natural gas. The canal is not merely important; it is indispensable to the functioning of the modern world economy.

Construction and Early History¶

Ancient Precedents¶

The idea of connecting the Mediterranean to the Red Sea is ancient. Pharaoh Senausret III built a canal around 1850 BCE connecting the Nile to the Red Sea via the Bitter Lakes. Subsequent rulers—including Persian Emperor Darius I and the Ptolemaic pharaohs—rebuilt and extended this waterway. The canal silted up repeatedly and was last restored by Arab rulers before finally falling into disuse around 767 CE. Napoleon Bonaparte surveyed the isthmus in 1799, dreaming of a French canal, but his engineers incorrectly concluded that the Red Sea was 10 meters higher than the Mediterranean, making a sea-level canal impossible.

The French Project¶

The modern canal emerged from French initiative and became one of the 19th century’s greatest engineering achievements:

Ferdinand de Lesseps: A French diplomat with connections to Egyptian royalty who obtained a 99-year concession from Egypt’s ruler, Said Pasha, in 1854. The Suez Canal Company (Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez) was incorporated in 1858 with French and Egyptian shareholders—notably excluding British investment, as London opposed the project.

The engineering challenge: The canal required excavating 75 million cubic meters of earth through sand, rock, and salt marshes. Initially relying on corvée (forced) labor from Egyptian peasants—with estimates of 20,000 to 30,000 workers at any time—the project transitioned to steam-powered machinery as international criticism mounted. The labor cost was staggering: thousands died from cholera, dysentery, and exhaustion. The project took ten years and cost twice the original estimate of 200 million francs.

Opening in 1869: The canal’s inauguration on November 17, 1869, was among the 19th century’s grandest spectacles. Empress Eugénie of France led a flotilla through the canal; Giuseppe Verdi was commissioned to write an opera (Aida) for the Cairo Opera House constructed for the occasion. Within years, traffic exceeded projections, and Suez became the highway of empire.

British Domination¶

Britain initially opposed the canal as a French scheme that threatened British maritime dominance. Lord Palmerston called it a “bubble” and predicted failure. Once opened, British attitudes changed dramatically:

The lifeline to India: The canal cut the voyage from London to Bombay from approximately 11,000 miles around the Cape to 6,000 miles through Suez—over 40% shorter. Transit time dropped from three months to three weeks. Suez became the critical link in Britain’s imperial communications, carrying troops, administrators, mail, and the commerce that sustained the Raj.

Financial control: In 1875, when Khedive Ismail faced bankruptcy from extravagant spending, Benjamin Disraeli’s government purchased Egypt’s 44% stake in the canal company for £4 million—a sum borrowed from the Rothschild banking family. The purchase gave London effective control over the canal’s operations, though France retained majority shareholding.

Military occupation: Britain occupied Egypt in 1882, intervening in a nationalist uprising that threatened European interests. The occupation, supposedly temporary, would last 74 years. British forces protected the canal through two world wars, repelling Ottoman attacks in 1915 and serving as the base for Middle Eastern operations.

The Canal Zone: The 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty formalized British military presence in a Canal Zone strip along the waterway. British bases, depots, and tens of thousands of troops remained, a constant reminder of colonial subjugation that became increasingly contentious as Egyptian nationalism intensified after World War II.

The Suez Crisis (1956)¶

The Suez Crisis remains a defining moment in the history of decolonization, the Cold War, and the end of European empire. It demonstrated that the colonial era was over and that the united-states had become the arbiter of Western action in the Middle East.

Background and Nationalization¶

The crisis unfolded against a backdrop of rising Arab nationalism and Cold War competition for influence in the Middle East. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had seized power in a 1952 military coup, pursued an independent foreign policy that alarmed the West. He purchased arms from Czechoslovakia (a Soviet proxy), recognized Communist China, and positioned himself as leader of the non-aligned movement.

When the United States and Britain withdrew offers to finance the Aswan High Dam in July 1956—punishing Nasser for his Soviet flirtations—the Egyptian leader responded dramatically. On July 26, 1956, Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal Company in a speech broadcast across the Arab world, declaring that Egypt would use canal revenues to build the dam itself. The announcement electrified the Arab street and enraged the canal’s major shareholders—Britain and France—who saw their strategic asset seized.

The Tripartite Aggression¶

Britain, France, and Israel secretly planned military intervention under the Protocol of Sèvres:

October 29, 1956: Israel invaded the Sinai Peninsula, rapidly advancing toward the canal
October 30: Britain and France issued an ultimatum demanding both Egypt and Israel withdraw 10 miles from the canal—a transparently contrived pretext since Egyptian forces were defending their own territory
October 31-November 5: When Egypt refused, Anglo-French forces launched air strikes, destroyed the Egyptian air force, and landed paratroopers at Port Said. British and French naval forces bombarded Egyptian positions.

The military operation succeeded tactically; Egypt could not resist combined European power. But the diplomatic consequences were catastrophic.

American Intervention¶

The Eisenhower administration, kept in the dark about the conspiracy, was furious. America forced the invaders to withdraw through devastating financial and diplomatic pressure:

Currency crisis: The US refused to support sterling, which was hemorrhaging value. Britain faced imminent financial collapse without American assistance.
Oil embargo: Saudi Arabia embargoed oil shipments to Britain and France; the US refused to supply alternatives.
UN pressure: Washington pushed General Assembly Resolution 997 demanding withdrawal, joining the Soviet Union in condemning its own allies.
Soviet threats: Khrushchev issued nuclear threats against Britain and France—largely bluster given American nuclear superiority, but terrifying to European publics.

Britain and France withdrew ignominiously. Prime Minister Anthony Eden, his health broken, resigned in January 1957.

Consequences¶

The Suez Crisis had profound and lasting effects:

End of European empire: Britain and France learned they could no longer act independently of American approval. The crisis marked the definitive end of Britain’s status as a global power; within a decade, most of the remaining empire would be decolonized.
Nasser’s triumph: Though militarily defeated, Nasser emerged as the hero of the Arab world for standing up to colonial powers. His prestige soared; pan-Arab nationalism reached its zenith.
Canal stayed nationalized: Egypt has operated the canal ever since, proving that Nasser’s administrators could manage it competently despite Western predictions of failure.
Cold War realignment: The United States displaced Britain as the primary Western power in the Middle East, a role it maintains today. The Eisenhower Doctrine of 1957 committed America to defending the region against communist aggression.
Soviet influence: Moscow gained prestige in the Arab world as a defender against imperialism, setting the stage for Soviet-Egyptian cooperation that would last until Anwar Sadat’s realignment in the 1970s.

The Modern Canal¶

Physical Characteristics¶

Today’s Suez Canal has been dramatically expanded from its 1869 dimensions through successive deepening and widening projects:

Characteristic	1869	2025
Length	164 km	193.3 km
Depth	8 meters	24 meters
Width (surface)	44 meters	205-225 meters
Maximum draft	6.7 meters	20.1 meters (66 feet)

Key operational parameters: - Transit time: 11-16 hours depending on convoy scheduling - Capacity: Over 20,000 vessels annually (approximately 50-60 per day) - Maximum vessel size: Suezmax class, roughly 200,000 deadweight tons for laden tankers; larger container vessels can transit

The canal operates a convoy system with northbound and southbound vessels timed to pass in designated bypass sections. Unlike the Strait of Malacca or Bab el-Mandeb, Suez has no natural current—it is essentially a sea-level trench cut through the desert.

Recent Expansion¶

In August 2015, Egypt completed a major expansion under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, marketed as the “New Suez Canal”:

A new 35-kilometer parallel channel in the northern section allows two-way traffic where only one-way convoys previously operated
Deepening and widening of 37 kilometers of existing sections to accommodate larger vessels
Reduced waiting times from an average of 11 hours to 3 hours for most vessels
Increased capacity to an estimated 97 vessels per day (though actual traffic rarely reaches this level)

The expansion cost approximately $8 billion and was completed in just one year—a point of national pride for the Sisi government. The project aimed to double canal revenues by 2023, a target not achieved due to global trade fluctuations and the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on shipping.

Economic Significance¶

For Egypt, the canal is a vital source of hard currency:

Transit fees generated a record $9.4 billion in fiscal year 2022-2023, reflecting high freight rates and strong demand
The canal typically ranks as Egypt’s second or third-largest source of foreign currency, competing with remittances from Egyptians working abroad (roughly $28 billion annually) and tourism (approximately $13 billion in good years)
Revenue fluctuates with global trade volumes, oil prices, and geopolitical disruptions—the 2023-2024 Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping caused transit volumes to drop by over 40%

For global commerce, Suez remains irreplaceable:

12-15% of world trade transits the canal—approximately $1 trillion worth of goods annually
Roughly 10% of seaborne oil trade and 8% of LNG trade passes through
30% of global container traffic uses the Suez route, connecting Asian manufacturing to European consumers
The canal saves ships an average of 8,900 kilometers compared to the Cape of Good Hope route—translating to roughly 10-14 days and $300,000-$400,000 per voyage for large container ships

Strategic Importance¶

European Energy Security¶

Europe receives significant oil and LNG shipments via Suez, making the canal critical to the continent’s energy security:

Gulf oil: Approximately 4-5 million barrels per day of crude and refined products flow northbound through the canal to Mediterranean refineries in Italy, France, Greece, and Spain
LNG shipments: Qatar, the world’s largest LNG exporter, ships much of its European-bound gas through Suez; rising European demand following the 2022 rupture with Russia has increased this dependence
Alternative vulnerability: Closure would force the long route around Africa, adding 10-14 days and $300,000+ per voyage. During the 2023-2024 Houthi crisis, European energy prices spiked as shipping diverted around the Cape.

The EU’s efforts to reduce dependence on Russian pipeline gas have paradoxically increased European vulnerability to Suez disruption—LNG tankers transiting from Qatar and the United States must use either Suez or the much longer Cape route.

The China Factor¶

China’s Belt and Road Initiative has increased Suez’s importance as the central corridor of China-Europe trade:

Container traffic: Chinese manufactured goods—electronics, clothing, machinery—flow to Europe through the canal. The China-Europe trade relationship, worth over $800 billion annually, depends heavily on this route.
Mediterranean port investments: Chinese state-owned COSCO operates the port of Piraeus in Greece, which has become a major transshipment hub for China-Europe trade. Piraeus’s business model assumes reliable Suez access.
Strategic vulnerability: Any extended Suez disruption would devastate China-Europe commerce. Beijing has explored alternatives—rail through Central Asia (the “Iron Silk Road”), Arctic routes—but none can replace maritime capacity.

Military Considerations¶

The canal enables rapid naval movement between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean:

US Navy: Aircraft carriers and other vessels transit between the Sixth Fleet (Mediterranean) and Fifth Fleet (based in Bahrain) via Suez, enabling flexible deployment across theaters. The canal’s dimensions limit which vessels can transit—modern supercarriers pass with little room to spare.
Russian Navy: Despite tensions with the West, Russian naval vessels continue to use the canal to reach the Mediterranean squadron supporting operations in Syria. The Montreux Convention limits Russian Black Sea Fleet access to the Mediterranean via the Bosphorus, making Suez an important alternative.
Other navies: Chinese, Indian, and European naval vessels routinely transit Suez, particularly for anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.

The canal’s narrow confines create military vulnerabilities—vessels are exposed, cannot maneuver, and present easy targets for any adversary with shore-based weapons. In wartime, the canal would likely be too dangerous for high-value naval vessels to transit.

Disruptions and Vulnerabilities¶

Historical Closures¶

The canal has been closed several times, with consequences that rippled across the global economy:

1956 (Suez Crisis): Egyptian forces scuttled ships and demolished bridges, blocking the canal for six months. Oil tanker rates tripled; Britain implemented fuel rationing; global shipping patterns shifted dramatically.
1967-1975 (Eight-Year Closure): Following the Six-Day War, the canal became the front line between Egyptian and Israeli forces. Fifteen cargo ships—the “Yellow Fleet”—remained trapped in the Great Bitter Lake for the entire period, their crews rotating while the vessels rusted. The closure forced shipping around the Cape, spurring the development of supertankers too large for Suez anyway. Global trade patterns shifted; some analysts argue the closure accelerated the rise of Asian manufacturing by increasing shipping costs from Europe.
2021 (Ever Given): Blocked for six days by a container ship grounding—see below.

The Ever Given Incident¶

On March 23, 2021, the Ever Given, a 400-meter container ship carrying 20,000 containers and weighing over 200,000 tons, ran aground in a sandstorm, wedging diagonally across the canal and blocking all traffic:

Immediate global impact: Supply chains disrupted within hours as just-in-time manufacturing assumptions collided with chokepoint reality
Traffic jam: At peak, 422 vessels waited at either end of the canal, including container ships, tankers, and bulk carriers
Economic cost: Estimated at $9-10 billion per day in delayed goods; Lloyd’s of London estimated total impact at $6-10 billion
Salvage operation: Eight tugboats, dredgers removing 30,000 cubic meters of sand, and careful maneuvering during a spring tide finally freed the vessel on March 29
Aftermath: Egypt detained the Ever Given for months pending compensation negotiations; the Suez Canal Authority initially demanded $916 million before settling for an undisclosed amount reportedly around $550 million

The incident demonstrated the fragility of concentrated trade routes. A single ship, a sandstorm, and an unfortunate grounding disrupted 12% of global trade. The vulnerability was not theoretical; it was measured in billions.

The Houthi Crisis (2023-2024)¶

Beginning in November 2023, Houthi forces in Yemen launched attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb, claiming solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza conflict. The attacks fundamentally disrupted Suez traffic:

Traffic collapse: Weekly Suez transits fell by over 40% as major shipping lines rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope
Cost impact: Shipping rates for Asia-Europe routes increased by 200-300%; transit times extended by 10-14 days
Insurance premiums: War risk insurance for Red Sea transit increased dramatically, making the Cape route economically preferable for some cargoes
Egyptian revenues: Suez Canal Authority revenues dropped by approximately 40-50% during peak disruption months

The crisis demonstrated that Suez’s security depends not just on the canal itself but on the entire Red Sea corridor from Bab el-Mandeb northward.

Potential Threats¶

Various scenarios could disrupt Suez:

Terrorism: Attacks on vessels or canal infrastructure. The canal passes through the Sinai Peninsula, where Egyptian forces have battled Islamic State-affiliated militants. A successful attack on a large tanker could block the canal and cause environmental catastrophe.
Military conflict: Regional wars affecting Egypt or neighboring states. The Arab-Israeli conflicts closed the canal repeatedly; future Middle Eastern wars could do the same.
Accidents: Groundings, collisions, or infrastructure failure. The Ever Given showed how a single vessel can paralyze the global economy; larger and larger ships increase the risk.
Political instability: Egyptian domestic crises. The 2011 revolution and subsequent turmoil did not close the canal, but severe instability could disrupt operations.
Red Sea threats: As the Houthi attacks demonstrated, threats to bab-el-mandeb and the Red Sea corridor can effectively neutralize Suez without touching the canal itself.

Alternatives and Redundancy¶

The Cape Route¶

Ships can bypass Suez by sailing around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, the route that dominated Europe-Asia trade for centuries before the canal opened:

Adds approximately 7,000-9,000 km and 10-14 days to Europe-Asia voyages depending on origin and destination
Becomes economically competitive when canal fees are high, oil is cheap (reducing fuel cost penalty), or Red Sea security threats increase insurance premiums
Some very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and ultra-large crude carriers (ULCCs) use this route routinely because they exceed Suez’s draft limits
During the 2023-2024 Houthi crisis, major shipping lines including Maersk, MSC, and Hapag-Lloyd rerouted significant traffic to the Cape, demonstrating that the alternative remains viable if costly

The Northern Sea Route¶

Climate change is opening Arctic passages that could eventually compete with Suez:

The Northern Sea Route (NSR) along Russia’s Arctic coast is approximately 40% shorter than the Suez route for voyages between Northern Europe and Northeast Asia
Shanghai to Rotterdam via the Arctic: roughly 8,000 nautical miles; via Suez: roughly 11,000 nautical miles
Current limitations: The route remains ice-bound for 8-10 months annually, requires expensive ice-strengthened vessels, lacks rescue and support infrastructure, and passes through waters dominated by Russia
Traffic volumes: Only a few hundred transits annually compared to Suez’s 20,000+
Long-term potential: By mid-century, longer ice-free seasons could make the Arctic a meaningful alternative, though infrastructure, insurance, and geopolitical complications will persist

Pipelines¶

Some oil bypasses the canal via overland infrastructure:

SUMED pipeline (Suez-Mediterranean Pipeline Company): Two parallel pipelines with combined capacity of 2.8 million barrels per day carry Gulf crude from Ain Sukhna on the Red Sea to Sidi Kerir on the Mediterranean. This allows supertankers too large for the canal to offload, pump oil overland, and reload onto Mediterranean-bound vessels. SUMED handles roughly 1-2 million barrels per day typically, with surge capacity during canal disruptions.
Middle Eastern pipelines: The East-West Pipeline in Saudi Arabia (Petroline) can carry 5 million barrels per day from the Gulf to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, though it primarily serves to bypass the Strait of Hormuz rather than Suez.

Alternative Canals (Proposed)¶

Various canal projects have been proposed over the decades:

Israeli Negev Canal: Proposals dating to the 1960s for a canal through Israeli territory from Eilat to the Mediterranean. Never built due to cost, environmental concerns, and geopolitical complications.
Ben Gurion Canal: A recurring concept, periodically revived, for an Israeli-controlled alternative to Suez. The Gaza conflict has renewed speculation, but the engineering, cost (estimated at $100+ billion), and regional politics make construction implausible.
None has seriously challenged Suez’s dominance, and none is likely to in the foreseeable future.

Egypt’s Strategic Position¶

Control of Suez gives Egypt significant leverage in regional and global affairs, though the relationship cuts both ways:

Revenue stream: Transit fees of $7-9+ billion annually provide crucial foreign currency and fund government operations. This makes the canal Egypt’s most reliable income source—unlike tourism (vulnerable to terrorism and pandemic) or remittances (dependent on Gulf economies).

Diplomatic weight: Major powers have vital interest in Egyptian stability and access to the canal. This interest translates into aid, investment, and tolerance for Egyptian domestic policies that might otherwise attract criticism.

Military importance: The united-states provides approximately $1.3 billion annually in military aid to Egypt—making it the second-largest recipient of American security assistance after Israel. This support, maintained across administrations regardless of human rights concerns, reflects Suez’s strategic value. Egypt also hosts American military exercises and provides overflight and transit rights.

Regional influence: The canal gives Cairo leverage in Middle Eastern affairs. Egypt’s relationships with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other regional powers are reinforced by its control of this critical chokepoint.

Vulnerability: Egypt’s dependence on the canal creates susceptibility to external pressure. Threats to canal traffic—whether from Houthi attacks, regional conflict, or accidents—directly impact Egyptian state finances. The government cannot easily diversify away from this concentrated asset.

The current government under Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has prioritized canal development as an economic strategy, investing $8 billion in the 2015 expansion and promoting the Suez Canal Economic Zone to attract manufacturing and logistics investment. Egypt maintains close relationships with both the united-states and Gulf Arab states while carefully managing ties with China and Russia—a balance that keeps the canal accessible to commerce and navies from across the geopolitical spectrum.

Conclusion¶

The Suez Canal represents human geography at its most transformative—an artificial waterway that reshaped global trade patterns and made Egypt pivotal to world affairs. From the imperial rivalries of the 19th century to the Cold War confrontations of the 20th to the supply chain vulnerabilities of the 21st, Suez has remained at the center of geopolitical concern.

The canal’s history encapsulates the modern history of the Middle East: European colonialism, nationalist awakening, Cold War competition, and the complex interplay of regional and global powers. Control of Suez triggered wars, accelerated decolonization, and continues to shape Egyptian foreign policy.

The Ever Given incident and the Houthi crisis reminded the world how much depends on this single channel—and on the broader Red Sea corridor of which it is part. A 193-kilometer trench through the Egyptian desert, first dug with the labor of peasants and maintained by dredgers ever since, carries 12% of world trade. Its continued operation is essential to European energy security, Chinese manufacturing exports, and the functioning of global supply chains.

As global trade continues to grow and European-Asian commerce intensifies, the canal’s importance will only increase—along with the strategic significance of the country that controls it and the vulnerabilities of the chokepoints that feed it.

Sources & Further Reading¶

“Parting the Desert: The Creation of the Suez Canal” by Zachary Karabell — A vivid narrative history of the canal’s construction that illuminates the imperial rivalries and engineering challenges that shaped this artificial waterway.
“Suez: The Seven Day War” by Hugh Thomas — The definitive account of the 1956 Suez Crisis, revealing how the canal became a flashpoint that marked the end of British and French imperial power.
“Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire” by Jason Goodwin — Provides essential context for understanding the Middle Eastern geography and politics into which the canal was inserted.
“The Suez Canal: A Selection of Documents” edited by D.A. Farnie — Primary source collection essential for understanding the legal and diplomatic frameworks governing the canal.
“Serving the Realm: The Complete Guide to the Suez Canal” by Zachary Karabell — An accessible introduction to the canal’s continuing economic and strategic importance in global trade.