Photos: Enormous DOURADO barge makes historic crossing through Suez Canal after expansion

CAIRO – 8 November 2024: The Suez Canal announced on Friday the successful crossing of the giant 90-meter-wide DOURADO barge, marking the largest qualitative crossing operation in the history of the Egyptian waterway.

The Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), Osama Rabie, said the barge would not have been able to cross the canal if it weren't for the completion of the canal expansion project within the southern sector development project, the authority said in a statement.

The crossing of the barge took nearly 24 hours and required complex navigational arrangements, Rabie said.

 

DOURADO’s reliance solely on tugs for guidance necessitated precision in steering and meticulous studying of the direction of air and water currents to maintain its position in the middle of the canal during its journey, he added.

The barge has been so far the largest floating unit to traverse the canal, with a total length of the crossing group (including the barge and tugs) reaching 450 meters, a width of 90 meters, and a tonnage of 91,000 tons.

DOURADO crossed the new canal lane as part of the northbound convoy, towed from the front by two tugs and guided by five tugs belonging to the SCA. The barge was also navigated by a team comprising senior SCA guides and tugboat captains during its journey from Singapore to Turkey.

 

HUGE EXPANSION

The DOURADO crossing stands as the most extensive of its kind through the canal since the finalization of the expansion project in the southern sector, Rabie stated.

He highlighted that the initiative introduces an additional 40 meters to the canal's eastern side, exceeding the former maximum permissible width of 70 meters for canal crossings pre-expansion.

This extension has diminished the influence of water currents and bolstered the maritime safety measures in the southern sector, the SCA chief noted. Furthermore, it has heightened the canal's efficiency and its ability to host floating units that were previously unable to traverse the waterway.

 

In 2023, the SCA announced the completion of the initial phase of the southern sector development project, widening the canal by an impressive 40 meters to the east, spanning from the 132-162 km marks.

Rabie, during the announcement, also noted that the second part of the project within the Small Bitter Lake region, covering the stretch from 122-132 km mark, has reached a completion rate of 76 percent.

This milestone achievement comes in the wake of the inauguration of a new segment of the Suez Canal at its northern extremity in 2016, adding new momentum to the navigation movement through this vital international waterway.