The geographical position of the Suez Canal makes it the shortest route between East and West as compared with the Cape of Good Hope. The Canal route achieves saving in distance between the ports north and south of the Canal, the matter that is translated into other saving in time, fuel consumption and ship operating costs as shown in the table below :
About 8 % of the world seaborne trade passed through the Suez Canal in 2009.
| SC |
Cape |
Miles |
% |
| Ras Tanura |
Constanza |
4 144 |
12 094 |
7 950 |
66 |
| Lavera |
4 684 |
10 783 |
6 099 |
57 |
| Rotterdam |
6 436 |
11 169 |
4 733 |
42 |
| New York |
8 281 |
11 794 |
3 513 |
30 |
| Jeddah |
Piraeus |
1 320 |
11 207 |
9 887 |
88 |
| Rotterdam |
6 337 |
10 743 |
4 406 |
41 |
| Tokyo |
Rotterdam |
11 192 |
14 507 |
3 315 |
23 |
| Singapore |
Rotterdam |
8 288 |
11 755 |
3 647 |
29 |
An animation describing the saving
in distance via Suez Canal.
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