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The Suez Canal remains a strategic issue

NATO Standing Group ships crossing the Canal, October 2008. (NATO)

So far traffic in the Suez Canal has remained undisturbed. Fortunately. Nearly 150 years after it was dug, the Canal retains all its appeal. It is both an economic lung for Egypt, a trade route for Europe and the Arab countries, a strategic corridor for the American and NATO naval forces which cross it regularly.

The center for higher studies of the (French) navy has just published a short reminder of the importance of this passage. With 150 euros a? each time container ships pass, the canal remains the country's third largest source of budgetary revenue with 000 billion euros in profit, behind tourism and financial transfers. It sees 3,6 ships pass a year, including 34 oil tankers transporting nearly 000 million tonnes of crude. Download here

Social and security risk

The latest events in Egypt, with Mubarak's refusal to give in totally to the demands of the street (1) may cause concern. The Egyptian army has also deployed a unit specifically responsible for protecting the Canal. The risk is just as much social as security. Some of the Canal workers have thus started a strike which could be followed.

Military ships regularly cross the Canal in one direction or the other, either to go to the Indian Ocean, or to support operations in Afghanistan and anti-terrorism, or for anti-piracy operations, or to other reasons, will certainly have their eyes more open than usual. It is customary, in fact, among sailors to remain alert. This must be the case of the Aconit, the French frigate which has just returned from the European Union's anti-piracy operation. This is also the case with many American ships.

Other movements also pay attention. So it seems that some ships of the Iranian fleet, dedicated to the fight against pirates, have climbed into the Red Sea (facing Eritrea). It would thus be an Iranian ship (according to Persian media) which intervened to thwart a pirate attack on the Chinese ship in Hong Kong, Tien Hau, Sunday, before the Chinese navy came to its aid.

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Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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