ENC Coverage for the Suez Canal

The Egyptian Naval Hydrographic Department (ENHD) has produced its first 12 ENCs (10 Harbour and 2 Approach) which seamlessly cover the waters of the Suez Canal. UK-based IC-ENC has been working closely with ENHD to assist in the production of these ENCs, both through attendance of the IC-ENC ENC Validation Training Course in February 2015 and through telephone and email support on a regular basis.

ENHD has also been working in partnership with the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) to ensure that the release of these new ENCs align with the opening of the new and important 35km second channel within the Suez Canal on 6 August 2015. These ENCs will provide flexibility and usability at different scales throughout the whole canal.

The official opening took place at 15:00 local time on 6 August, which saw El Horreya, a Royal Egyptian yacht, take the first transit from south to north using the new channel. In the evening there was a performance of Aida, an opera written by Guiseppe Verdi, which was also performed at the original opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.

This is the greatest expansion of the canal since it first opened in 1869, costing USD8 billion. The works involved 12 months of dredging using 45 dredgers, which has resulted in the removal of approximately 250 million cubic metres of soil. Previously a single lane, the canal can now facilitate traffic in two directions in almost 45% of its length, thus reducing transit time from 18 hours to 11 hours. As a result, waiting times have been minimised to just three hours, allowing the transit of 45 vessels in two directions, and increasing the maximum permissible vessel draft to 66ft throughout the canal.

With the daily average of transiting vessels expected to double, this important expansion of the Suez Canal will help to support and enhance increasing world trade.