Webinar: Navigating the Suez Canal

Monday, February 27, 12:00 p.m. EST

Presenter: Captain Morgan McManus, SUNY Maritime College
Moderator: Doug Taggart, Overlook Systems Technologies

What is it like to navigate a ship through the Suez Canal?
Complicated and highly stressful!

The Suez Canal that links the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea allows shipping crews to shave days off their shipping time. Without access to the Suez Canal, ships would need to navigate 3,000 additional nautical miles around the dangerous Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa and enter the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar, adding 10 - 15 days to the voyage.

More than 22,000 ships passed through the Suez Canal in 2022 alone, making it the second busiest maritime choke point next to the Strait of Hormuz. But navigating a ship through the canal is fraught with high risks and unique challenges.

Navigating the canal became a source of attention after a giant container ship recently got stuck while navigating through the canal and blocking traffic for six days, preventing an estimated $9.6 billion of goods to pass and causing a significant disruption to the global supply chain.

So, what are the challenges pilots face with traversing the narrow canal with giant container ships? High winds, sandstorms, loss of visibility, tides, geo-political issues, and high-pressure commercial demands to name a few. What instruments are used to mitigate the risks? What navigation technologies are used to ensure success?

Webinar Recording: