Dr.

SHAKUNTALA MISRA NATIONAL REHABILITATION

UNIVERSITY

Lucknow

Faculty of Law

Subject- Public International Law

Project on

Panama Canal & Suez Canal

Submitted by

Vivek Mishra

[Roll No. 74]

B.Com. LL.B (Hons.) 7th Semester

Submitted to

Ms. Shambhavi Upadhyay

(Guest Faculty)
Faculty of Law
Dr. Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I, Vivek Mishra B.Com LLB(Hons.) 7th semester Roll no. 74 I feel myself highly elated, as it
gives me a tremendous pleasure to come out with work on the topic doctrine of Panama and
Suez Canal. I started this project two weeks ago on its completion. I feel that I have not only
successfully completed it but also earned an invaluable learning experience. First of all I express
my sincere gratitude to my teacher Ms. Shambhavi Upadhyay Ma’am who enlightened me
with such a wonderful and elucidating research topic.

I also express my humble gratitude to my parents and classmates for helping me in completing
this project.

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 INDEX

1. Introduction to Panama Canal……………………………………………………….04-05

2. Introduction to Suez Canal ………………………………………………………….06-08
3. Competetion………………………………………………………………………….09-10
4. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………11
5. Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………..12

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 Panama Canal and Suez Canal

Introduction to Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is an artificial 82 km waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean
with the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit for
maritime trade. Canal locks are at each end to lift ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial lake
created to reduce the amount of excavation work required for the canal, 26 m above sea level,
and then lower the ships at the other end. The original locks are 34 m wide. A third, wider lane
of locks was constructed between September 2007 and May 2016. The expanded canal began
commercial operation on June 26, 2016. The new locks allow transit of larger, neo-Panamax
ships, capable of handling more cargo.

France began work on the canal in 1881, but stopped due to engineering problems and a high
worker mortality rate. The United States took over the project in 1904 and opened the canal on
August 15, 1914. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the
Panama Canal shortcut greatly reduced the time for ships to travel between the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans, enabling them to avoid the lengthy, hazardous Cape Horn route around the
southernmost tip of South America via the Drake Passage or Strait of Magellan and the even less
popular route through the Arctic Archipelago and the Bering Strait.

Colombia, France, and later the United States controlled the territory surrounding the canal
during construction. The US continued to control the canal and surrounding Panama Canal Zone
until the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties provided for handover to Panama. After a period of joint
American–Panamanian control, in 1999, the canal was taken over by the Panamanian
government. It is now managed and operated by the government-owned Panama Canal
Authority.

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Annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in 1914, when the canal opened, to 14,702
vessels in 2008, for a total of 333.7 million Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System
(PC/UMS) tons. By 2012, more than 815,000 vessels had passed through the canal.[2] It takes
11.38 hours to pass through the Panama Canal. The American Society of Civil Engineers has
ranked the Panama Canal one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

United States acquisition

At this time, the President and the Senate of the United States were interested in establishing a
canal across the isthmus, with some favoring a canal across Nicaragua and others advocating the
purchase of the French interests in Panama. Bunau-Varilla, who was seeking American
involvement, asked for $100 million, but accepted $40 million in the face of the Nicaraguan
option. In June 1902, the US Senate voted in favor of the Spooner Act, to pursue the Panamanian
option, provided the necessary rights could be obtained.

In 1904, the United States purchased the French equipment and excavations, including the
Panama Railroad, for US$40 million, of which $30 million related to excavations completed,
primarily in the Gaillard Cut, valued at about $1.00 per cubic yard. The United States also paid
the new country of Panama $10 million and a $250,000 payment each following year.

In 1921, Colombia and the United States entered into the Thomson–Urrutia Treaty, in which the
United States agreed to pay Colombia $25 million: $5 million upon ratification, and four-$5
million annual payments, and grant Colombia special privileges in the Canal Zone. In return,
Colombia recognized Panama as an independent nation.

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Introduction to Suez Canal
The Suez Canal is a sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red
Sea through the Isthmus of Suez. Constructed by the Suez Canal Company between 1859 and
1869, it officially opened on 17 November 1869. The canal offers watercraft a more direct route
between the North Atlantic and northern Indian oceans via the Mediterranean and Red seas, thus
avoiding the South Atlantic and southern Indian oceans and reducing the journey distance from
the Arabian Sea to London, for example, by approximately 8,900 kms. It extends from the
northern terminus of Port Said to the southern terminus of Port Tewfik at the city of Suez. Its
length is 193.30 km including its northern and southern access-channels. In 2012, 17,225 vessels
traversed the canal.

The original canal featured a single-lane waterway with passing locations in the Ballah Bypass
and the Great Bitter Lake. It contains no lock system, with seawater flowing freely through it. In
general, the canal north of the Bitter Lakes flows north in winter and south in summer. South of
the lakes, the current changes with the tide at Suez.

The United Kingdom and France owned the canal until July 1956, when the President of Egypt,
Gamal Abdel Nasser, nationalized it - an event which led to the Suez Crisis of October-
November 1956. The canal is owned and maintained by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) of
Egypt. Under the Convention of Constantinople, it may be used "in time of war as in time of
peace, by every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of flag". Nevertheless, the
canal has played an important military strategic role as a naval short-cut and choke-point. Navies
with coastlines and bases on both the Mediterranean and Red Seas (Egypt and Israel) have a
particular interest in the Suez Canal.

In August 2014 the Egyptian government launched construction to expand and widen the Ballah
Bypass for 35 km to speed the canal's transit-time. The expansion intended to nearly double the
capacity of the Suez Canal - from 49 to 97 ships per day. At a cost of $8.4 billion, this project
was funded with interest-bearing investment certificates issued exclusively to Egyptian entities
and individuals. The "New Suez Canal", as the expansion was dubbed, was opened with great
fanfare in a ceremony on 6 August 2015.

On 24 February 2016, the Suez Canal Authority officially opened the new side channel. This
side channel, located at the northern side of the east extension of the Suez Canal, serves the East

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Terminal for berthing and unberthing vessels from the terminal. As the East Container Terminal
is located on the Canal itself, before the construction of the new side channel it was not possible
to berth or unberth vessels at the terminal while the convoy was running.

Canal crossings

The canal in 2015 from north to south, the crossings are:

1. The Suez Canal Bridge, also called the Egyptian-Japanese Friendship Bridge, a high-
level road bridge at El Qantara. In Arabic, al qantara means "arch". Opened in 2001, it
has a 70-metre clearance over the canal and was built with assistance from the Japanese
government and by Kajima.

2. El Ferdan Railway Bridge 20 km north of Ismailia was completed in 2001 and is the
longest swing-span bridge in the world, with a span of 340 m. The previous bridge was
destroyed in 1967 during the Arab-Israeli conflict. The current bridge is no longer
functional due to the expansion of the Suez Canal, as the parallel shipping lane completed
in 2015 just east of the bridge lacks a structure spanning it.
3. Pipelines taking fresh water under the canal to Sinai, about 57 km north of Suez.

4. Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel south of the Great Bitter Lake was built in 1983. Because of
leakage problems, a new water-tight tunnel was built inside the old one from 1992 to
1995.
5. The Suez Canal overhead powerline crossing was built in 1999.

A railway on the west bank runs parallel to the canal for its entire length. Six new tunnels for
cars and trains are also planned across the canal. Currently the Ahmed Hamdi is the only tunnel
connecting Suez to the Sinai.

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Suez Canal Economic Zone

The Suez Canal Economic Zone, sometimes shortened to the Suez Canal Zone, describes the set
of locations neighbouring the canal where customs rates have been reduced to zero in order to
attract investment. The zone comprises over 600 km2 within the governorates of Port Said,
Ismailia and Suez. Projects in the zone are collectively described as the Suez Canal Area
Development Project.

The plan focuses on development of East Port Said and the port of Ain Sokhna, and hopes to
extend to four more ports at West Port Said, El-Adabiya, Arish and El Tor.

The zone incorporates the three "Qualifying Industrial Zones" at Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, a
1996 American initiative to encourage economic ties between Israel and its neighbours.

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 Competition: Panama Vs. Suez Canals

The Panama Canal and Suez Canal are longtime rivals within the container shipping industry as
both canals support the flow of global trade by shortening historical trade routes. Container ships
have continued to grow in size and the canals noticed the need for expansion projects in order to
keep pace with the industry. Below we compare the two canals' history, expansion projects,
individual market share and future.

History of the Canals

The original Suez Canal opened almost 150 years ago linking the Mediterranean Sea with the
Red Sea. The canal took almost ten years to dredge and was opened for navigation in 1869.
Vessels were then able to bypass the long route around the southern tip of Africa by transiting
the 101-mile Egyptian waterway.

On the other side of the world and about ten years later, the French began construction on the
Panama Canal. However, engineering problems and diseases caused construction on the canal to
cease.

In 1904, the United States resumed construction on the canal. While building the canal a total of
5,609 lives were lost due to accidents, malaria or yellow fever. Finally in 1914, the project was
complete and the canal was opened connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Expansion Projects

The Panama Canal expansion project started in 2007 and was completed in 2016. A new, third
set of locks created an additional lane to accommodate larger container ships. After the
completion of the project, the canal can now handle 13,000 TEU capacity vessels, more than two
times its previous capacity.

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The Suez Canal Authority recognized it would need to compete with the expanding Panama
Canal. Therefore, the canal authority announced its plan in August 2014 to deepen the canal and
create a new 45-mile parallel lane to enable two-way traffic.

Previously, the Suez Canal only permitted one-way convoys which created delays for ships
moving through the waterway. The expansion project shortened the transit time from eighteen
hours to eleven hours. The wait time to transit the canal also dropped from about eleven hours to
around three hours.

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 Conclusion

At the conclusion of the Panama Canal expansion, ultra large mega-ships (capacity of 14,501
TEU and higher) will not be able to transit the canal. Therefore, the Panama Canal Authority is
contemplating yet another expansion project which would allow the canal to handle vessels as
large as 20,000 TEUs.

Both the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal will likely continue expansion projects into the
foreseeable future as mega-vessels continue to be introduced on carrier service strings. The
anticipated construction of vessels with capacity of 20,000 TEUs will continue to affect the
canals and industry as a whole.

Not only will the canals be forced to accommodate the introduction of these ultra large mega-
ships but they will also have a significant impact on infrastructure and terminal berthing around
the world.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

The information has been taken from:-

 Panama & Suez Canal,

https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/28180/14/14_chapter%204.pdf.
 Ascent Global Logistics Blog,
https://blog.ascentgl.com/the-panama-canal-vs.-the-suez-canal

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