[pup55]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'C')AIRO, Egypt - A 93,000-ton cargo ship blocked the Suez Canal on Wednesday, stopping all transit of the waterway between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, a Suez Canal Authority official said.
The Hong Kong-flagged ship drifted at right angles to the canal while passing through the waterway near Ismailiya, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

[thor]

The Suez Canal does appear to have an extremely low EIOCR: Energy Invested On Chaos Returned.

[Daryl]

Nice target for an Iranian missile.

[rushdy]

Strong winds my backside, I reacon the captains been drinking!

[FoxV]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pup55', 'I')t looks like this particular situation is fairly innocuous, but you can see right away the potential if somebody decided to do some mischief.

[strider3700]

Sinking ships in the canal to block it is an old trick

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ ... egypt2.htm

Apparently the US isn't sending supply ships through it to resupply due to terrorism concerns being too high.

[Bleep]

More stuff in general:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')url=http://www.solarnavigator.net/suez_canal.htm]WORLD OIL TRANSIT CHOKEPOINTS (link)[/url]
Over 35 million barrels per day (bbl/d) pass through the relatively narrow shipping lanes and pipelines discussed below. These routes are known as chokepoints due to their potential for closure. Disruption of oil flows through any of these export routes could have a significant impact on world oil prices.

[DantesPeak]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '2')/9/06 Agence Fr.-Presse 07:34:00
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE ENGLISH WIRE
Copyright 2006 Agence France-Presse February 9, 2006:
Suez traffic normal after stranded ship moved
ISMAILIYA, Egypt, Feb 9, 2006 (AFP) - Traffic on the Suez Canal moved freely again on Thursday after a cargo ship blocking the vital waterway was moved, an official with the canal authority said.

Traffic was interrupted in both directions Wednesday morning after a Hong Kong-flagged vessel and its 93,000-ton cargo drifted from its path near Ismailiya and ran aground as it headed northwards from the Red Sea.

Canal authority tug boats pulled the stranded ship from its perch and traffic returned to normal around 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) Wednesday, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Bad weather and strong seas had disrupted transport into and out of Egypt Wednesday, forcing four Red Sea harbours and several airports to close.

The Suez canal is Egypt's third largest source of revenue and lost income is estimated at seven million dollars for each day of closure.
str-jb/cjo/sjw Egypt-Suez-shipping

[Ferretlover]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pup55', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'C')AIRO, Egypt - A 93,000-ton cargo ship blocked the Suez Canal on Wednesday, stopping all transit of the waterway between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, a Suez Canal Authority official said.

[Tanada]

I originally posted this to an existing thread in current events but I think it deserves its own topic in this forum. If the Mods dissagree they will delete this one, I guess.

I have been learning about the Suez Canal for the last week or so because of an unrelated project and was surprized to learn a couple of things. Te first surprise is that the Gulf of Suez is 1.2 meters higher in elevation than the Med Sea, so water flows freely from the Gulf through the canal and into the Med Sea basin. The canal passes through the Geat Bitter Lake and the Lesser Bitter Lake during its transit and for many years the highly saline water in these two bodies was potent enough that any Red Sea life forms which transited the canal were killed upon entry, however the canal has now been open for most of the last 140 years with a few brief closures. Because the water flows freely through the canal 24/7 the concentrated water of the bitter lakes has now been diluted to the same salinity level as the Gulf of Suez. As a consequence both of the Bitter Lakes have been colonized by lifeforms native to the Red Sea and these invadors have now passed all the way through the canal and entered the Med Sea basin. Because the waters of the Med Sea basin on the eastern end more closely resemble those of the Red Sea than those of the Atlantic the Red Sea invaders are out competing the Atlantic species which enter the Med Sea through the straits of Gibralter.

Additionally while the Suezmax freight limits have prevented fully loaded supertankers from transiting the canal from the Persian Gulf to Europe these ships have been able to navigate the canal while in ballast on there way back to the Persian Gulf. The Suez Canal Authority is currently dredging the Suez canal to increase its depth and ultimate capacity which will permit fully loaded supertankers to transit the canal from the Persian Gulf to Europe, saving millions of dollars of fuel currently consumed while transiting around Africa to reach Europe. How much faster the deeper canal will pass water into the Med basin I have not been able to discover, however there are no plans to put any locks in the system so the water will continue to pass through via gravity feed unabated.

It will be educational to learn in the future what impacts this higher flow volume has on the chemical balance of the water in the Eastern Med Basin.

see LINK for some info on the topic.

[frankthetank]

I wonder how some of those species adapt to the colder water of the Med? I bet the Med warms more then it should by the intrusion of that water...probably has a small effect.

Funny... I've been reading a lot about the Nile lately. Trying to figure out what the Egyptians will do when it runs dry!

They finally netted a "Flying Carp" right by the city of La Crosse. This is the farthest north one has been caught.

[dunewalker]

Tanada, you piqued my curiosity about the Suez Canal, as I've never studied it. Surprising to learn that it's a sea level canal. I did a little googling & discovered that apparently there was some sort of canal there in the times of Cleopatra and Ramses. Some course between the Nile & the Red Sea, which I guess would accomplish much the same goal as the modern version. Maybe Frankthetank with his mapping skills can dredge up some maps on this--I'd be very interested.

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dunewalker', 'T')anada, you piqued my curiosity about the Suez Canal, as I've never studied it. Surprising to learn that it's a sea level canal. I did a little googling & discovered that apparently there was some sort of canal there in the times of Cleopatra and Ramses. Some course between the Nile & the Red Sea, which I guess would accomplish much the same goal as the modern version. Maybe Frankthetank with his mapping skills can dredge up some maps on this--I'd be very interested.

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'I') wonder how some of those species adapt to the colder water of the Med? I bet the Med warms more then it should by the intrusion of that water...probably has a small effect.

Funny... I've been reading a lot about the Nile lately. Trying to figure out what the Egyptians will do when it runs dry!

They finally netted a "Flying Carp" right by the city of La Crosse. This is the farthest north one has been caught.

[frankthetank]

They should have somehow routed it through the Nile. Therefore adding a freshwater barrier?

Panama canal like?

[frankthetank]

Just looking at some surface temps... In the Northern Red Sea right now the water temp is 30C while just north of Egypt the water temp is 22C... 15F difference... That Red Sea is like a BATH TUB!

That is roughly Tampa, FL latitude... Where just offshore in the GOM the water temp is 70F...

Could you imagine what it must be like living along the Red Sea in the summer time??? The humidity must be horrendous. I'm thinking the dewpoints must be some of the highest on the planet in that area.

[careinke]

Actually, the humidity is not as bad as it is in the Persian Gulf in the Summer. The Scuba diving in the Red Sea is (IMHO) the best in the world, especially on the Saudi side (due to lack of divers).

Cliff (Start a rEVOLution, grow a garden)

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'J')ust looking at some surface temps... In the Northern Red Sea right now the water temp is 30C while just north of Egypt the water temp is 22C... 15F difference... That Red Sea is like a BATH TUB!

That is roughly Tampa, FL latitude... Where just offshore in the GOM the water temp is 70F...

Could you imagine what it must be like living along the Red Sea in the summer time??? The humidity must be horrendous. I'm thinking the dewpoints must be some of the highest on the planet in that area.

[frankthetank]

I use ship tracker for finding temps... Those big boats have gauges on them...

http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shiplocations.phtml

I was looking at the population of Egypt and it is nuts. 80 million people living in basically a desert, depending on one source of water for everything.

I also found a reference that told of the Nile FREEZING over twice in recorded history... Could you imagine? The river Nile froze twice in recorded history, in 829[9][10] and 1010.[11]

All i can say is that channel is used by the US military, and carries a lot of oil and goods. Not much can stop those!

better temp map

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'I') use ship tracker for finding temps... Those big boats have gauges on them...

http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shiplocations.phtml

I was looking at the population of Egypt and it is nuts. 80 million people living in basically a desert, depending on one source of water for everything.

I also found a reference that told of the Nile FREEZING over twice in recorded history... Could you imagine? The river Nile froze twice in recorded history, in 829[9][10] and 1010.[11]

All i can say is that channel is used by the US military, and carries a lot of oil and goods. Not much can stop those!

better temp map