Suez Canal receives giant dredger in planned upgrade
The Suez Canal Authority is talking about plans to widen the southern section of the canal, only days after the giant Panama-flagged container vessel, Ever Given, went aground and became wedged across the international maritime passageway, causing a weeklong blockage.
CAIRO — A giant dredger has made it to the Great Bitter Lakes, near the Suez Canal, in preparation for joining the fleet of the international maritime passageway.
Named for the former head of the Suez Canal Authority, Mohab Mameesh, and built by Dutch Royal IHC, together with another dredger, for 300 million euros ($360 million), the new digger is 147.4 meters (484 feet) long and 23 meters (75 feet) wide. It can dredge to 35 meters (115 feet) deep; the canal's depth is 24 meters (79 feet).
Its arrival comes only days after the authority chairman, Adm. Osama Rabie, said the authority was contemplating widening the southern section of the waterway.
The widening of this section, maritime transport specialists said, acquires great importance in the light of developments in maritime transport around the world and the emergence of a new generation of super-large vessels.
