Giant ship Ever Given blocks Suez Canal: Why the Suez Canal is so important

Giant ship Ever Given blocks Suez Canal: Why the Suez Canal is so important

The 120-mile-long artificial waterway known as the Suez Canal has been a potential flashpoint for geopolitical conflict since it opened in 1869. Now the canal, a vital international shipping passage, is in the news for a different reason: A quarter-mile-long, Japanese-owned container ship en route from China to Europe has been grounded in the canal for days, blocking more than 100 vessels and sending tremors through the world of maritime commerce. Here are some basics on the history of the canal, how it operates, how the vessel got stuck and what it means. A: The canal is in Egypt, connecting Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean via the southern Egyptian city of Suez on the Red Sea. The passage enables more direct shipping between Europe and Asia, eliminating the need to circumnavigate Africa and cutting voyage times by days or weeks. The canal is the world's longest without locks, which connect bodies of water at differing altitudes. With no locks to interrupt traffic, the transit time from end to end averages about 13 to 15 hours, according to a description of the canal by GlobalSecurity. org. A: The canal, originally owned by French investors, was conceived