Traffic System
The Canal is run in a convoy system allowing ships to transit as fixed speed and a fixed separation distance between every two passing ships, Three convoy pass through the Canal every day, two southbound against one northbound. Each of the three convoys follows a certain system as for the time of entering the Canal, the speed limits and the emergency stopping distance between every two ships within the one convoy.
The Suez Canal has been doubled in four parts (78 Km.), and this allows the transit of ships in both directions:
- Port Said by-pass 36.5 km. accomplished in 1980
- Ballah by-pass 9 km. accomplished in 1955
- Timsah by-pass 5 km. accomplished in 1980
- Deversoir by-pass 27.5 km. accomplished in 1980
It is worth mentioning that the more doubled parts the Canal has, the less transit time ships shall have and the more their number will be.
The Suez Canal pilots are credited with piloting ships from the time they arrive at the roadsteads till they exit at the other end of the Canal to the open sea.
It takes the ship from 12 to 16 hours to transit the Canal. The numerical capacity of the Canal is about 76 standard ships per day.
