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How did the Suez Canal change global oil shipping?
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Suez Canal
Ships in the Suez Canal in Egypt. One of the world's most important shipping lanes, the Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
The Suez Canal fundamentally transformed global oil shipping by providing a direct maritime link between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, allowing vessels to bypass the long, arduous voyage around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.12
Following 1950, the canal experienced an enormous growth in crude oil and petroleum shipments from the Persian Gulf to Europe. However, the canal's role in the oil trade has shifted over time due to several factors:3
- Disruptions and Adaptations: The closure of the canal from 1967 to 1975 forced the industry to utilize larger oil tankers capable of navigating the route around Africa and prompted the construction of the Sumed pipeline.3
- Tanker Size: As oil tankers grew in size, many became too large to navigate the canal, reducing its utility for the largest vessels.3
- Diversification: The development of oil sources outside the canal’s primary route—such as in the North Sea, Nigeria, and Mexico—further diminished its relative importance in the international oil trade.3
Today, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects to the canal, remains a critical chokepoint, handling more than one-tenth of the seaborne global oil trade.4