What happened in Saudi Arabia in 1957?

More than 200 years ago, the Suez Canal was called the "Great Waterway of the East." After the completion of the Suez Canal, the voyage distance from various ports in Asia to Europe has been greatly shortened by more than 8,000 kilometers. It connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea and connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian and Pacific Oceans via the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal. It is an international shipping waterway with important economic and strategic significance. For example, the flight distance from Guangzhou to Constanta can be shortened by 12,423 kilometers; the flight distance from Guangzhou to Marseille, France, by detouring around the Cape of Good Hope can be shortened by 9,197 kilometers. Ships from the Persian Gulf to Western Europe can go back and forth nine times a year through the Suez Canal, but can only go around the Cape of Good Hope five times a year. Moreover, most routes through the canal pass through the inland sea, which is much safer than the notoriously risky Cape of Good Hope route.

The Suez Canal is also of great value to Egypt’s economic development. According to statistics, about 18,000 ships from more than 100 countries and regions around the world pass through the canal every year. 70% of the oil exported from the Middle East to Western Europe is transported through the Suez Canal. The goods transported through the Suez Canal every year account for 14% of the world's maritime trade. Among the artificial canals in the world suitable for maritime transportation, the number of countries using them and the number of passing ships There are many, and the volume of cargo is huge, and the Suez Canal ranks among the best. The Suez Canal is the "lifeline" and "cash cow" of Egypt's economy. Passing ship tolls, together with remittances, tourism, and oil, have become Egypt's four major pillars of foreign exchange income for many years. The canal now earns Egypt $2 million in foreign exchange every day. Ships passing through the canal pay tolls on a per-seat basis, as well as water diversion fees and navigation marks. Revenue from the canal reached US$1.9 billion in 1993 and exceeded US$2 billion in 1994.

The longest lockless canal in the world.

Compared with other waters, the accident rate is almost zero.

Navigable day and night.

When the ship size is too large, it is possible to deepen or widen the river channel.

VTMS (Vessel Management System) was introduced, a network of very accurate electronic radar observations.

The Suez Canal can serve all kinds of super cargo ships. Edit this paragraph | Back to top The impact of the Suez Canal on world trade. The distance between the Saudi Arabian port of Burgida and the Black Sea port of Constanta around the Cape of Good Hope is 11,771 miles, while the distance via the Suez Canal is only 1,698 miles, saving 86% of the distance. .

The distance between Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Tokyo in Japan can be saved by 23% via the Suez Canal than via the Cape of Good Hope.

7% of the world’s maritime trade volume passes through the Suez Canal, 35% of which are ports along the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, 20% are ports in India and Southeast Asia, and 39% are in the Far East.

The Suez Canal is a transportation chokepoint connecting Europe, Asia and Africa, and has important strategic and economic value. The canal was built with Egyptian blood, sweat and life, but it was controlled by the British and French canals. The Suez Canal rakes in huge profits every year and has become Egypt's "state within a state." After the victory of the Egyptian July Revolution in 1952, Egypt launched a struggle against the British occupation of the canal zone and demanded the recovery of the canal. In October 1954, Britain was forced to agree to withdraw its occupying forces from the Canal Zone by June 13, 1956. In order to develop its national economy and resist Israeli aggression, Egypt signed trade agreements with the Soviet Union, Germany, and Poland in September 1955 to purchase weapons and equipment from the Soviet Union and other countries after seeking military assistance from the West and being faced with difficulties and rejections. This caused strong dissatisfaction among Western countries such as Britain, France, and the United States. In order to force Egypt to abandon its policy of independence, in July 1956, Britain and the United States issued a statement withdrawing the US$70 million in aid promised in 1952 for Egypt's construction of the Aswan Dam project. Then, the World Bank also stopped its plan to loan US$200 million to Egypt. Egypt refused to succumb to Western pressure. On July 26 of the same year, Nasser issued the "Order on the Nationalization of the International Suez Canal" so that the revenue from canal shipping could be used to build Aspen. money for the Wang Dam. Britain and France are worried that the canal will be closed and the oil transportation line between the Gulf and Western Europe will be cut off, and they threaten Egypt with sanctions. First, Egypt's deposits in Britain and France and the canal's funds were frozen. On August 2, Britain, France and the United States issued a joint communique advocating the "internationalization" of the Suez Canal and proposed convening a London conference attended by 24 countries, which was rejected by Egypt. Subsequently, the "Five-Nation Committee" composed of the United States, Australia, Ethiopia, Iran and Sweden exerted pressure on Egypt. The British and French also incited hundreds of foreign staff to resign, but the Egyptian pilots successfully ensured smooth shipping. In September, Britain, France and the United States held another London meeting and decided to submit the Suez Canal issue for discussion.

On October 29, 10 brigades of the Israeli army invaded the Sinai Peninsula in four directions and pushed towards the canal. The Egyptian army launched a tenacious counterattack. On October 30, Britain and France demanded that Israeli and Egyptian troops withdraw from the canal zone within 12 hours, otherwise they would send troops to intervene, but they were rejected. On October 31, British and French troops launched an armed intervention in Egypt. On November 5, British and French marines landed near Port Said, but the invading army was blocked by the heroic resistance of local soldiers and civilians. Egypt announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Britain and France, and the main force of the Egyptian army withdrew from Sinai to concentrate on defending the canal zone. Countries around the world supported Egypt's just struggle against aggression. Some Arab countries severed diplomatic relations with Britain and France and imposed an oil embargo on Britain and France.

On November 1, the United States proposed an immediate armistice at an emergency conference. On the 2nd, the General Assembly passed this proposal with an overwhelming majority vote. On November 5, the Soviet Union proposed that it join forces with the United States to send troops to "stop" the aggression, and issued an ultimatum to Britain and France, claiming that it was "determined to use force" to restore peace. Britain and France were in trouble at home and abroad, and declared a ceasefire on November 6. On December 3, Britain and France announced their withdrawal from Egypt, and all were withdrawn on the 22nd. On March 8, 1957, Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula and Egypt won the battle to regain the Suez Canal.

The Suez Canal is a world-famous artificial river dug on the Isthmus of Suez in northeastern Egypt. It is the transportation hub that connects Asia, Africa and Europe, and is the international trade channel that connects the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and then connects the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. It started construction in April 1859 and was officially opened to navigation in November 1869. It took ten years and eight months. In order to dig the canal, about 120,000 Egyptians lost their lives. The canal starts from Port Said in the north, passes through Lake Timsa, the Great Bitter Lake and the Little Bitter Lake in the middle, and ends at Port Taufik at the top of the Gulf of Suez in the south. It is 161 kilometers long, plus extends to the Mediterranean Sea (9 kilometers) and Suez. The river section of the bay (3 kilometers) has a total length of 173 kilometers, a width of 180 to 200 meters, and a water depth of 15 meters. Originally, only ships with a draft of 11.5 meters and a load of 65,000 were allowed to pass. After expansion in recent years, it can now pass super-giant ships with a draft of 20 meters, a load of 260,000 and an empty load of 700,000. In order to facilitate travel between the two sides of the canal, Egypt built the 5,912-meter underwater Suez Canal in 1980, which became an important link connecting Asia and Africa.

The excavation and navigation of the Suez Canal has greatly shortened the voyage from Europe and North America to the Indian and Pacific coasts. From the European Atlantic coast to the Indian Ocean via the Mediterranean Sea - Suez Canal - Red Sea, the voyage is 5,500 to 8,000 kilometers shorter than going around the Cape of Good Hope. For countries along the Black Sea, it is shortened by more than 10,000 kilometers. The route is short and the voyage period is shortened, which reduces the freight. The freight for tankers from the Gulf to Europe is about 30% lower than that around the southern tip of Africa. At the same time, it is much safer for ships to pass through the canal than through the "Cape of Storms" - the Cape of Good Hope. As a result, the Suez Canal quickly became the world's busiest shipping route. More than 20,000 ships from more than 100 countries pass through it every year. 80% of Asia-Europe shipping cargo and a quarter of the world's oil tanker shipments pass through this canal. An artificial river. The Suez Canal has a special significance in Egypt's economic activities. On the one hand, it improves Egypt's status in the world, and on the other hand, it also increases income. In addition to paying tolls per seat, ships passing through the canal also have to pay fees for water diversion and navigation marks. In recent years, the canal has increased Egypt's foreign exchange earnings by approximately US$700 million every year, averaging nearly US$2 million per day. Canal revenue, together with oil, remittances, and tourism, are Egypt's four major financial sources.

This "Great Eastern Waterway" that Egypt dug with its blood, sweat and lives on its own land has been occupied and turned into a tool for economic plunder and military aggression. After the canal was built, France took control of the operation. Starting in 1882, the British occupied the canal for 74 years, becoming Britain's "Eastern Lifeline." In 1956, Egypt announced that it would nationalize the canal, giving it a new lease of life. However, due to the unstable situation in the Middle East, the canal was often closed. For example, after the Middle East War in June 1967, the canal became the front line of the confrontation between Egypt and Israel, forcing Egypt to close the canal for eight years before it was reopened in June 1975.

In fact, as early as 4,000 years ago, the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Sostris dug a canal on a tributary of the Nile River, which later generations called the "Pharaoh's Canal". The potential economic and strategic benefits of this ancient canal made countries covet it, and they continued to fight against it. It was successively occupied by the Romans and the Persians. In the 8th century, Egypt blocked the canal for military reasons.

In 1798, after Napoleon occupied Egypt, in order to open a channel to directly seize the wealth of India and the Far East, he personally took engineers to find the remains of the ancient canal and prepared to reopen it. However, his engineers made an error in their measurements and believed that the water level of the Red Sea was 10 meters higher than that of the Mediterranean Sea, making it impossible to build a canal. Soon, Napoleon was eager to return home, so he gave up on building the canal.

In the 19th century, Britain and France focused on the rich East. France attempted to connect the Mediterranean and the Red Sea to the east in order to break British control of the Cape of Good Hope shipping lanes. In order to safeguard its interests in the East, especially in India, Britain opposed the construction of a canal and advocated building a railway from Alexandria through Cairo, Suez, Syria, and the Euphrates River to the Persian Gulf to strengthen the connection between the East and the West. In 1851, Britain obtained permission from Egypt to begin construction of the railway from Alexandria to Cairo. Not to be outdone, France supported engineer Lesseps to defraud Egypt's trust and sign a concession contract for the construction and use of the Suez Canal in 1854. And in 1857, the "International Suez Maritime Canal" was established. In the spring of 1859, construction of the Suez Canal officially broke ground. During this period, hundreds of thousands of Egyptian migrant workers were used to dig canals in the mud of the Suez Isthmus where cholera was rampant. For this reason, 120,000 people lost their precious lives. After 10 years of arduous construction, the Suez Canal was officially opened to navigation on November 17, 1869. After the success of the Egyptian Revolution in 1952, Egypt demanded that British troops withdraw from Egypt and organized guerrillas to attack British troops in the Canal Zone.

On July 26, 1956, Egyptian leader Nasser announced that the canal would be nationalized in order to safeguard the dignity of the country and the nation. The United Kingdom and the United States were not willing to lose their interests in the canal. In October 1956, they invaded Egypt with Israel in an attempt to reoccupy the canal. Nasser was defeated and the canal was finally returned to Egyptian hands. Currently, about 18,000 ships from more than 100 countries and regions around the world pass through the canal every year. The tolls from passing ships have been Egypt's main source of foreign exchange for many years. In 1994, Egypt's canal revenue exceeded $2 billion. Now, the Suez Canal has become the lifeline and "cash cow" of Egypt's economy.