Suez Canal
Artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt
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| March 2025 |
Suez canal economic zone
Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly visited the Suez Canal Economic Zone and announced plans to build nine factories and two service centres, highlighting significant infrastructure development initiatives for the region.
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| January 2025 | Egypt began testing new sections of the Suez Canal's second channel extension, with the Suez Canal Authority reporting successful vessel passages. |
| 2023 | Houthi rebel attacks on shipping vessels off the coast of Yemen caused monthly losses of $800 million according to Egypt's President Sisi. |
| June 30 2023 | The Suez Canal achieved a record annual revenue of $9.4 billion USD for the fiscal year ending on this date. |
| May 25 2023 | A Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship, MV Xin Hai Tong 23, was grounded near the southern end of the canal but was quickly refloated by tugboats in less than a day. |
| 2022 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
The event was referenced in the TV show 'What We Do in the Shadows' in its season four episode 'Reunited', featuring a character stuck in a shipping container on the Ever Given.
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| 2021 | Over 20,600 vessels traversed the Suez Canal, averaging 56 ships per day. |
| November 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
The Ever Given returned to regular service in mid-November after repairs.
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| September 9 2021 | The canal was briefly blocked by MV Coral Crystal but was freed within 15 minutes, causing minimal disruption. |
| August 20 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
The Ever Given sailed through the Suez Canal en route to Qingdao for repairs.
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| July 12 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
After more than 100 days of delay, the Ever Given finally departed following inspections.
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| July 7 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
Egyptian authorities released the Ever Given after reaching an undisclosed settlement, which included a 75-ton tugboat from the ship owner Shoei Kisen Kaisha.
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| July 7 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
After reaching a formal settlement with an undisclosed sum, the Ever Given set sail again, stopping for inspections at Port Said before continuing to its original destination, the port of Rotterdam.
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| June 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
Suez Canal Authority reported that one person died during the six-day salvage operation.
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| May 10 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
The Suez Canal Authority reduced its compensation claims from US$916 million to US$600 million.
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| April 29 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
Three additional crew members whose contracts were expiring were permitted to leave the ship.
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| April 18 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
Local seafarer union representatives visited the crew and captain on board the detained ship.
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| April 15 2021 | Egyptian authorities announced a plan to widen the southern section of the Suez Canal, extending approximately 30 kilometers from Suez to the Great Bitter Lake. The expansion aims to improve canal efficiency by increasing the width and maximum depth. |
| April 15 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
Two of the 25 Indian crew members were allowed to depart due to urgent personal circumstances.
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| April 13 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
The Egyptian government impounded the Ever Given vessel after its owner and insurers refused to pay the demanded billion-dollar compensation.
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| April 4 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
The ship's owner declared 'general average', a maritime law principle invoking cost-sharing for vessel rescue during a major casualty event.
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| April 3 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
The backlog of ships delayed by the blockage was finally cleared.
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| April 2 2021 | Usama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, reported that the damage from the blockage could reach about $1 billion. By this date, 285 cargo ships had passed through the canal, with the remaining 175 freighters expected to pass soon. |
| March 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
Romanian and Spanish authorities temporarily suspended loading of livestock ships for export due to the Suez Canal obstruction, raising concerns about animal welfare during the maritime blockage.
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| March 31 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
Divers and Suez Canal Authority investigators began inspecting the Ever Given for damage and interrogating the crew to determine the causes of the grounding.
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| March 29 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
Ever Given was partially re-floated and finally freed by 14 Egyptian, Dutch, and Italian tugs at 15:05 EGY (13:05 UTC), after being blocked for six days. The ship was then towed to the Great Bitter Lake for technical inspection.
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| March 28 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
Efforts to dislodge the ship progressed, with some movement of the stern and rudder. The seagoing tug Alp Guard arrived, almost doubling available towing capacity.
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| March 27 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
High tide enabled a flotilla of tugboats to attempt refloating the Ever Given, with the ship moving north by the end of the day.
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| March 26 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
Suez Canal Authority accepted assistance from a United States Navy assessment team of dredging experts to help remove the ship.
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| March 25 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
Suez Canal Authority suspended navigation through the canal and engaged Royal Boskalis Westminster through Smit Salvage to manage marine salvage operations for the Ever Given.
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| March 23 2021 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
The container ship Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal, wedging across the waterway with its bow and stern stuck on opposite canal banks, completely blocking maritime traffic due to strong winds and potential technical or human errors.
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| 2020 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
European Commission report revealed inadequate oversight and unfitness of ships used for animal transportation, specifically highlighting issues with vessels from Romania, France, and Spain.
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| January 2020 | A cave with prehistoric paintings of people and animals was discovered north of Mount Catherine, providing archaeological evidence from the Chalcolithic Period (5th-4th millennium BCE). |
| 2019 | The Negev desert railway project was placed on indefinite hold, effectively suspending the proposed alternative route to the Suez Canal. |
| September 25 2018 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
Ever Given was completed and officially entered service, replacing an earlier ship of the same name.
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| June 2018 |
Suez Governorate
Russia and Egypt sign an agreement to establish a Russian Industrial Zone within the Suez Governorate, representing a major international industrial collaboration.
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| May 9 2018 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
Ever Given was launched, completing a key stage of its shipbuilding process.
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| 2017 | Plans surfaced to build a new bridge spanning the parallel canal and convert the old single-track railway on the Ferdan to a double track. |
| October 18 2017 | The OOCL Japan ran aground, causing an obstruction that blocked the canal for a few hours. |
| 2016 | El Nasr pontoon bridge was opened, connecting Port Said to Port Fuad. |
| 2016 | The Suez Canal Authority officially opened a new side channel at the northern side of the east extension, improving vessel berthing capabilities. |
| 2015 | Parallel shipping lane to the Suez Canal was completed, making the existing El Ferdan Railway Bridge non-functional. |
| December 25 2015 |
2021 Suez Canal obstruction
Ever Given container ship was laid down, marking the beginning of its construction.
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| 2014 | The Egyptian government launched construction to expand and widen the Ballah Bypass to increase the canal's transit capacity. |
| January 2013 | Population data recorded for Sinai Peninsula, with North and South Sinai governorates having 597,000 inhabitants, and Western Sinai expanding the total population to 1,400,000. |
| August 2012 | Sinai attack resulted in the killing of 16 Egyptian soldiers by militants, escalating the region's security crisis. |
| February 2012 | Israel announced plans to construct a railway through the Negev desert between the Mediterranean and Eilat, potentially creating an alternative route to the Suez Canal. |
| 2011 | Egyptian revolution took place, leading to increased unrest in the Sinai Peninsula. |
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Suez Canal, 2021 Suez Canal obstruction, Sinai Peninsula, Suez Governorate & Suez canal economic zone, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.