Recently a 400-metre-long (1,300 ft) huge container ship called “Ever Given” stucked across the Suez Canal waterway that has prevented other international ships from passing through the Suez Canal from 23 March 2021 to 29 March 2021.

The Suez Canal Authority has used about 14 powerful tug boats to refloat the stucked ship and finally they have succeeded in their endeavour.

During this period, more than 350 ships were on the queue and altogether International business communities lost more than 9 billion dollars worth of trade. Many countries such as Syria, etc. forced to start rationing of their fuel supply after their fuel supplies were held up by the stalled shipping traffic in the Suez Canal.

Suez Canal route is highly important for the trade between Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Once this rout is jammed, the ships from the different part of the world has to pass through the alternative route that is around the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of Africa that can take two weeks longer.

The Suez Canal is basically in Egypt and the same is a man-made waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea which is allowing direct shipping from Europe to Asia.

This Canal’s total length is 192 km. It’s one end is Port Said in the Mediterranean Sea and the other end is Suez City in Red Sea and it is a direct route for shipping between Europe and Asia. This is one of the world’s most important and busiest waterways that is located 75 miles east of Cairo of Egypt.

About 12% of global shipping trade passes through the 193km (120-mile) canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea and provides the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe.

Suez canal is also a direct route between the North Atlantic and northern Indian oceans via Mediterranean & Red seas, thus avoiding the South Atlantic & southern Indian oceans & reducing the journey distance from the Arabian Sea to London, for example, by about 8,900 kms.

The idea of the Suez canal was literally brought forward by the former Former French diplomat Ferdinand De Lesseps to avoid the ships passing through the “cape of good hope” all around Africa reaching South Africa to travel from the Atlantic to the Indian ocean. Instead of “cape of good hope” rout, the ships can travel from the Mediterranean sea to Red Sea.

Suez Canal was constructed by a company called Suez Canal Company. They have started this project in 1859 and it has completed in 1869 and the same was officially opened on 17 November 1869

Even though many other shipping waterways are available in the world, but Suez Canal still the major and reliable waterway that connect Europe to Middle East Oil and Indian Ocean trade routes, which in return generates many billions of dollars for Egypt’s economy.