Why did the opening of the Suez Canal reduce Port Louis's importance as a shipping port?

Port Louis was originally founded in 1736 as a vital calling place for ships traveling between Asia and Europe that were rounding the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.1

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 significantly reduced the port's importance because it provided a much shorter maritime route between Europe and the Indian Ocean. As a result, international shipping traffic began to bypass Port Louis, as vessels no longer needed to make the arduous journey around the southern tip of Africa. This decline in maritime activity was further compounded by a malaria epidemic that occurred in the late 1860s, which had already begun to drive shipping away from the port.23145