Why the canal matters
The Suez Canal links the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea across the Isthmus of Suez, from Port Said in the north to Suez in the south. Ships that use it avoid the voyage around Africa, and the journey from the Arabian Sea to London is about 8,900 km shorter.
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), an average of 8.8 million barrels of oil a day passed through the canal and the SUMED pipeline in 2023. According to IMF PortWatch data, an average of about 74 cargo ships and tankers a day passed through the canal that year.
How the canal is laid out
The canal is 193.3 km long. It has no locks: sea water flows freely along its whole length. It is up to 24 m deep and about 205 m wide, and takes ships with a draught of up to 20.1 m. The canal opened in 1869. Egypt nationalised it in 1956, and today the state-owned Suez Canal Authority runs it.
Part of the canal is a single channel. Ships going in opposite directions pass each other in the bypasses, sections with two channels, which add up to about 113 km.
In August 2015 Egypt opened the New Suez Canal: it dug 35 km of new channel alongside the old one and deepened 37 km of existing bypasses, 72 km in all. On these sections ships can sail in both directions at the same time.
Rules of passage
The Constantinople Convention of 1888 declared that the canal is always free and open, in war as in peace, to merchant ships and warships of every flag.
Ships pass through the canal in convoys: the southbound convoy leaves from Port Said and the northbound one from Suez. Until their convoy leaves, ships wait at designated anchorages. A Suez Canal Authority pilot is on board each ship, and another pilot takes over at Ismailia.
Events since 2021
- March 2021. A large container ship ran aground across the canal and blocked it in both directions for six days. At least 369 ships queued to pass.
- November 2023. The Houthis began attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea, which ships reach from the south through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. From December 2023, large container lines began sending ships around Africa, via the Cape of Good Hope.
- 2024. According to the EIA, an average of 4.8 million barrels of oil a day passed through the canal and SUMED, against 8.8 million in 2023. According to the Suez Canal Authority, the canal's revenue fell to about $4 billion, from a record $10.3 billion in 2023.
- October 2025. When the Gaza peace plan took effect, the Houthis stopped attacking ships.
- July 2026. The Houthis declared a ban on all ships loading or discharging cargo at Saudi ports.
- September 2026. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd moved four more services back to the Suez route, saying the return remained conditional.
Ship traffic
IMF PortWatch counts cargo ships and tankers from AIS signals. According to its data, an average of about 52 such ships a day passed through the canal in 2019, about 74 in 2023, about 40 in 2024 and about 39 in 2025.
Container ships fell the most: about 19 a day in 2023 and about 9 in 2025. Tankers went from about 25 a day to about 15.
What the map shows
The map opens on the middle of the canal, near Ismailia. Ships waiting for their convoy lie at anchor off the entrances to the canal, for example off Port Said. To see Port Said, Suez and the anchorages, zoom out if needed. The Suez Canal Authority publishes the rules of navigation and its circulars for ships.