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It was 150 years ago to the day: the Suez Canal was inaugurated, in the presence of the Empress of the French, November 17, 1869. Since then, this artificial navigation route linking the Gulf of Suez and the Mediterranean Sea has ceased to grow to accommodate the growth of world trade. And today it is an important source of foreign currency for Egypt.
It changed little during its first century of existence, except for a modernization in 1887 that doubled its capacity and night navigation. Before the early 1950s, ships crossing the Suez Canal had to adapt to its size. And since then, it will be gradually expanded, deepened and lengthened. When it was nationalized in 1956, the canal has a length of 175 km, a depth of 14 m and can accommodate vessels of 30,000 tonnes.
Today, after the last works delivered in 2015, the Suez Canal has a length of 193.30 km, a depth of 24 m and ships of 240 000 tonnes can borrow it. On average, about fifty large boats cross it every day against three ships 150 years ago.
→ Also to listen: Suez Canal, the way of history
Traffic should double by 2023 to reach a hundred ships a day. According to the experts, this shipping route accounts for about 10% of international maritime trade and ships have to pay a right of way. It is through this channel that a large part of the oil transported by sea passes.
But it is attractive only when the prices of the black gold are high. In the case of a significant drop in prices, it may be more cost-effective to bypass Africa than to pay a substantial right of way to use the canal. It is a kind of cash cow for the Egyptian Treasury, which annually harvests several billion dollars in revenue: almost 6 billion for the year 2018-2019, an increase of 5.4% over one year.