List of Important Shipping Canals in the World
Canal | Length | Lock depth | Dimension | Location | Notes | ||
White Sea – Baltic Canal | 141 mi (227 km) | 3.5 m (11 ft) | 135m 14.3 3.5m | m | × × |
Russia | Opened in 1933, is partly a canalised river, partly an artificial canal, and partly some natural lakes. Shallow depth limits |
modern vessels from | |||||||
using the canal. | |||||||
Rhine- | 106 mi | 4 m | lock |
| Opened in 1992, links | ||
Main- | (171 km) | (13 ft) | dimensions: | Germany | the large | ||
Danube | 190m x | rivers Rhine and Danube, | |||||
Canal | 11.45m x | and thus also the North | |||||
4m | Sea and the Black Sea. | ||||
Suez Canal | 120.11 mi (193.30 km) | No locks, but 24 m (79 ft) deep. | 205 m (673 ft) wide |
Egypt | Opened in 1869, links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. |
Volga-Don Canal | 62 mi (100 km) | 3.5 m (11 ft) | lock dimensions: 140m x 16.6m x 3.5m |
Russia | Opened in 1952, connects the Black, Azov, and Caspian Seas. |
Kiel Canal | 60 mi (97 km) | 14 m (46 ft) | lock dimensions: 310m x 42m x 14m |
Germany | Opened in 1895. Shortens the passage between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. |
Houston Ship Channel | 56 mi (90 km) | 14 m (46 ft) | 161 m (528 ft) wide |
| Connects Houston, Texas to the Gulf of Mexico. |
Panama Canal | 51 mi (82 km) | 25.9 m (85 ft) | lock dimensions: 320m x 33.53m x 25.9 m |
Panama | Opened in 1914. Links the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean, creating a shortcut. |
Danube- Black Sea Canal | 40 mi (64 km) | 5.5 m (18 ft) | lock dimensions: 138m x 16.8m x 5.5m |
Romania | Opened in 1984. Links the Danube to the Black Sea. |
Manchester Ship Canal | 36 mi (58 km) | 8.78 m (28.8 ft) | lock dimensions: 170.68m x 21.94m x 8.78m |
| Opened in 1894. Links the in-land city of Manchester to Irish Sea. |
Welland Canal | 43.4 km (27.0 mi) | 8.2 m (27 ft) | lock dimensions: 225.5m x 23.8m x 8.2 m |
Canada | Opened in 1931. Links Lake Erie to Lake Ontario and is part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. |
Saint Lawrence Seaway | 8.2 m (27 ft) | lock dimensions: 225.5m x 2.3m x 8.2 m |
Canada
| Links Montreal with Lake Superior. |
1.2.2.3. Oceanic Routes in India
The coastline of the mainland of India and of the islands is about 7,517 km long. India had a flourishing maritime trade even during the ancient days with East Indies and Middle East countries. The shipping got a setback with the arrival of European companies during the colonial rule.
India has 13 major ports and 176 non-major ones. The major ports carry about 3/4th of the total traffic. Despite adequate capacity and handling facilities the average turnaround time of major Indian ports is less than 4 days which is very high compared to the average turnaround time of about 10 hrs in Hong Kong. This undermines the competitiveness of Indian ports. Since the ports are not adequately linked to the Hinterland, the evacuation of CARGO is slow leading to congestion. To this end, all ports trust have set up groups with representatives from the National Highway Authority of India(NHAI), Railways and State Governments to prepare comprehensive plans aimed at improving road-rail connectivity of ports. The NHAI has taken up port connectivity as major component of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP).
1.2.2.3.1. Problems of Shipping in India
The Indian shipping industry is facing a number of problems. Some of them are as under:
1) Inadequacy of tonnage capacity.
2) Shortage of container fleet.
3) Over-aged vessels resulting in high operation costs.
4) Stiff competition with foreign shipping companies which provide better and cheaper service.
5) Congestion at the major ports, and
6) Inadequate infra-structural support like ship-repair facility, dry-docking and cargo handling.