ORBIS

Chokepoint · Egypt

Suez Canal

Disrupted since December 2023Updated October 1, 2026

The Suez Canal is an artificial waterway in Egypt, 193 km long, from Port Said on the Mediterranean to Suez on the Red Sea. It has no locks and sits at sea level. It links Europe and Asia by sea without sailing around Africa. About 15% of the world's seaborne trade normally passes through it.

Ship counts from IMF PortWatch

The Suez Canal entering the Great Bitter Lake, with ships waiting in the lake, seen from the International Space Station Map showing where the Suez Canal is
The canal and the Great Bitter Lake from the International Space Station, October 2009. NASA, public domain.
Length
193 km
From Port Said to Suez, with no locks
Ships in 2023
26,434
a record; 13,213 in 2024
Share of sea trade
About 15%
in a normal year (IMF)
Cargo ships a day
40
Last four weeks; 74 a day in 2023
Country
Egypt

Where is the Suez Canal?

The Suez Canal crosses Egypt from Port Said on the Mediterranean to Suez at the top of the Red Sea, a distance of 193 km. The west bank is Africa and the east bank is the Sinai peninsula, in Asia. Near its middle the canal passes through the Great Bitter Lake.

Map of the Suez Canal from Port Said on the Mediterranean to Suez on the Red Sea, through Ismailia and the Great Bitter Lake Port Said Ismailia Suez Great Bitter Lake Mediterranean Sea Gulf of Suez EGYPT SINAI Ever Given ran
aground here, 2021
Map of the Suez Canal from Port Said on the Mediterranean to Suez on the Red Sea, through Ismailia and the Great Bitter Lake Port Said Ismailia Suez Great Bitter Lake Mediterranean Sea Gulf of Suez SINAI Ever Given ran
aground here, 2021
The canal

Is the Suez Canal open?

Yes. In the four weeks to September 27, about 40 cargo ships a day used the canal, against 74 in 2023. Many shipping lines had avoided the Red Sea since the Houthis began attacking ships in November 2023. Between September 19 and 24, 2026, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd moved four more services to the Suez route. COSCO made its first southbound transit since the crisis on September 22. On September 23, the head of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, told 20 shipping lines that navigation was "safe and proceeding smoothly".

The risk has not gone. The Houthis took the port of Mokha and Perim island, at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, on September 10 and 11. On September 28, the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said merchant ships were queuing for escorts. The EU's Red Sea mission has about six warships and needs at least 10.

Ships through the canal each day

Weekly average, January 2023 to September 2026

02550751002023202420252026Dec 2023Shipping lines avoid the Red Sea 0255075100202420252026Dec 2023Shipping lines avoid the Red Sea
2023 average, 74 a dayIMF PortWatch counts cargo ships and tankers from ship tracking data. Ships with their transponders off are not counted.

How much does Egypt earn from the Suez Canal?

The canal earned a record $10.25 billion in 2023 from a record 26,434 ships, according to the Suez Canal Authority. It is one of Egypt's main sources of foreign currency. After the Houthi attacks began, revenue fell to $3.99 billion in 2024 from 13,213 ships, and $4.1 billion in 2025 from 12,758 ships. Egypt's President Sisi said in January 2026 that the Red Sea crisis had cost the canal about $9 billion over two years. In August 2026 the canal earned $567.1 million from 1,358 ships, its best month since December 2023. The authority expects $5.8 billion to $6 billion for all of 2026.

Canal revenue

2023$10.25 billion
2024$3.99 billion
2025$4.1 billion
Suez Canal Authority.

What happens when ships avoid the Suez Canal?

Ships sail around Africa, past the Cape of Good Hope. From Rotterdam to Singapore, the route through the Suez Canal is about 15,600 km. Around the Cape it is about 22,100 km. The IMF said the detour added 10 days or more to delivery times on average. Oil through the Suez Canal and its SUMED pipeline fell from 8.8 million barrels a day in 2023 to 4.9 million in the first half of 2025.

Map of two routes from Rotterdam to Singapore: through the Suez Canal, and around Africa by the Cape of Good Hope Rotterdam Singapore
Through the Suez Canalabout 15,600 km
Around the Cape of Good Hopeabout 22,100 km

Who controls the Suez Canal?

Egypt, through the state-owned Suez Canal Authority. A company led by the Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps built the canal, which opened in 1869. Egypt's President Nasser nationalized the canal on July 26, 1956. Britain, France and Israel then invaded, and the canal stayed closed until April 1957. The Constantinople Convention of 1888 says the canal is open to ships of every country, in war and in peace.

Who has run the canal

1869 19562026

The canal over the years

  1. 1869The canal opens on November 17 after ten years of work.
  2. 1956Nasser nationalizes the canal on July 26. Britain, France and Israel invade, and the canal stays closed until April 1957.
  3. 1967The Six-Day War closes the canal for eight years and traps 15 ships. Their crews hold their own Olympic Games in 1968.
  4. 2021The 400-meter container ship Ever Given runs aground on March 23 and blocks the canal for six days.
  5. 2024Houthi attacks near Bab el-Mandeb halve canal traffic, and revenue falls from $10.25 billion to $3.99 billion.
  6. Sep 2026Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and COSCO start sending container ships back through the canal.

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