Ships go through the desert
The number of vessels using the Suez Canal has been shrinking in recent years. The point is primarily the fact that the boats under the red flag disappeared. The Soviet Union was the largest user of the channel. In 1990, 2108 Soviet courts took place through it. And last year – only 75 ships from Russia, and another 57 – five other former Soviet republics. But its value for our country does not decrease. The volume of transportation on the channel is steadily growing, because ships have become larger. Last year, he exceeded 300 million tons – six percent of global shipping.
When you go on the car along the Canal from Ismailia in Port Said, then from time to time distilling not only trucks, but also ocean courts. It seems that they go straight along the sandy desert: the water surface of the Suez Canal from the road is not visible. Meanwhile, its width is now rather big – 350 meters.
The construction of the Suez Canal lasted ten years. His solemn discovery on November 17, 1869, high-ranking specialists from many countries arrived in Port Said. Were among them and ours. On Corway "Yakut" Sayer Great Prince Mikhail, and accompanied his famous artist Ivan Aivazovsky.
Europeans who have identified the construction of the canal to reduce the path to their Asian colonies, were pleased. But the Egyptians remained "with nose". They soon had to sell their share of Suez Channel shares in order to cover debts. The channel, cutting through the Egyptian land of the life of the life of one hundred thousand Egyptians, completely fell into other people’s hands.
Perhaps this would continue and today, if it were not for the revolution on July 23, 1952. Organization "Free officers" led by Gamal Abdel Nasser oversees the monarchical regime and took up the modernization of the country. To do this, it was necessary to cheat the capricious Nile first. Another ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote that Egypt – "Dar Nila", Civilization of farmers. But the Millennies the Great River was bought on the water, and then drought and hunger came, then during the spills, everything was swept on his way. Needed a high-altitude dam, and at first the West promised to help Egypt to finance this epochal project. But the moor mode has led himself too independently, and in the punishment for this West refused loans. And then the Egyptians decided to return: nationalize the Suez Canal, and the revenues from it use to build a high-altitude aswax dam.
Channel Nationalization History – Topic for Detective. About her told me the former head of the administration of the Suez Canal Mohammed Ezzat Adil. Operation was preparing in the strictest mystery. July 23, 1956 Nasser caused three young maritime officers to himself, one of which was adil. He instructed each of them to head a small military detachment and go to Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, where the institutions of the company of the Suez Canal were located. Three days later, on the anniversary of the renunciation of King Faruk from the throne, Nasser was supposed to perform at a rally in Alexandria, and his speech was broadcast on the radio. "So, – said the President of the officers, – as soon as I mention the name of Lesseps – the head of the construction of the canal, your detachments should immediately take control of the company’s building". What was done.
Stunned by the audacity of Egypt, the West replied first the feedback from its specialists, including pilot, in the hope of paralyzing the work of the canal, and in the late autumn – and direct military aggression of England, France and Israel. But the Egyptians survived. They were helped by friends. Our country sent to the canal of his pilots, and then scored the aggressors with the use of strength against them. In late December, the invaders left the channel zone, and he began to function normally again. But now the largest world water artery has been serving not only international trade, but also to Egypt itself.
And ahead of the Egyptians and the reference to them, the Suez Canal would be waiting for a new test. In June 1967, Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula and entered the Eastern Channel Coast. The movement of ships on it ceased to long eight years. In October 1973, the Egyptians fucked the channel and moved the invaders from him, but it took another year and a half to prepare water artery to work. It was necessary to raise across ships, clean the channel and approaches to it from min, restore navigation equipment. And again we helped the Egyptians: Soviet soldiers seafors were cleared of Suez Bay.
Meanwhile, during the forced inactivity of the channel, many countries began to build larger than before. Pass through the channel they could no longer. We had to the Egyptians urgently do the modernization of the waterway. For five years of work, ended in 1980, another Suez Canal was essentially built: the area of its section doubled and reached 3,600 square meters. Modernization continued and later. Now the area of the channel cross section exceeded 4000 square meters. On it can be fully loaded by ships with displacement until 195 thousand tons. And the emptore go through the canal and supertankers.
The administration of the Suez Canal conducts flexible prices and services policies to attract customers. Favorable offer received newly supertankers. "At the southern entrance to the canal, in Suez, we partially unload them into our own ships with dimensions less, and after the passage of supertankers through the channel, in Port Said, again load them", – I explained to me the deputy head of the administration of the Suez Canal Hussein Camille.
The channel remains one of the main sources of foreign currency for Egypt, annually bringing it almost two billion dollars. But soon his role will increase even more. North entrance to the canal, East Port Said, and his southern entrance, near Suez, are built two new major ports. Loose economic zones are created near them. They will become the centers for the production and trade of international importance.
Seztsky Canal, and its length, along with sea fairways, exceeds 190 kilometers, is laid along the cage connecting Asia with Africa. From the upper floors of the Canal Administration Building in Ismailia, located on its African coast, the desert expanses of the Asian Sina are clearly visible. From here, from the middle of the channel, is carried out with the help of the latest instrument management of all its complex farm. This includes applications from the courts approaching. And everyone here is happy.
