The History of Suez Canal and Its Importance to International Trade Today
In recent news, Israel has announced their plans to develop a railway line between the Mediterranean and Dead Sea. This strategic move hopes to capture some of the freight traffic enjoyed by the Suez Canal and hopes to compete with the well established maritime trade route. However, Egyptian government officials have stated that the railway poses no threat to the Suez Canal, as the rail route is expected to be two or three times more expensive than transporting goods via the canal. Furthermore, the Suez Canal has the capacity and experience to transport much larger volumes of goods at a time. For these reasons the railway is not expected to divert revenue from the Suez Canal. This article highlights the importance of the Suez Canal in the past and its relevance as a major trade route today.
The Nile River has always been a centre of importance to Egyptians, from a religious, political and economic perspective. Not only did goods travel the length of the river but information too. The Suez Canal, which connects both the Nile River and the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, became an equally important trade route after its first opening on the 17th November 1869. The Universal Suez Ship Canal Company, largely owned by Egyptian and French interests, was formed and given the right to operate the canal for ninety nine years.
The Suez Canal had an immediate and significant impact on trade as it greatly reduced the time and the risk of transporting goods. In 1875 Britain bought out Egypt’s shares, although an international convention in 1888 ensured that ships from all nations were able to use the Suez Canal. However with the creation of Israel in 1954, Egypt prohibited the use of the canal for any ship travelling to and from the newly formed nation. In 1956 the Egyptian government seized and nationalized the canal so that it could act as port agents and charge passage fees. That same year, Israel invaded Egypt for political and religious reasons, and Britain and France soon followed on the grounds that the canal should be free for all nations to use. In retaliation, Egypt sank forty ships in the Suez Canal with the intention of blocking it. These series of events are known as the 1956 Suez Canal Crisis. A truce was arranged by the United Nations and the Suez Canal reopened in 1957.
The Suez Canal is currently operated by the Suez Canal Authority. It is still has its original length of 163 km and is 300 meters in width. However, there are future plans to make the Suez Canal wider and deeper, in order for it to support larger ships. The Canal is as important today as it was in the 19th and 20th Century. It is one of the world’s busiest waterways and supports 8% of all shipping traffic in the world, supporting freight shipping company services.
After years of deliberation, Israel has finally decided to go ahead with plans to construct a railway line between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The new Israel railway link will serve as an alternative to the Suez Canal, which has a monopoly over the movement of traded goods in the region. Israel’s Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has explained that the railway is a strategic move, even if it is projected to be more costly than 
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The Suez Canal, also known as ‘The Highway to India’ is probably the most important contested canal route for sea freight in history. Opened in 1869 after a decade of construction, it linked the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean artificially and sliced off months of travel time for sea freight. Time is said to be the biggest cost of sea freight in the UK since the major trade partners are usually on the other side of the world. The Suez Canal is interesting in its history which predates its own existence by centuries; records state that ancient Egyptians had planned a similar canal many centuries before it was eventually completed. Because of the vast importance of the canal, there is an international treaty stating that at no time, during war or peace, will usage of the canal be blocked no matter what country or organisation plans to use it.