The San Francisco call., 1906-12-27
Traffic of Suez Shows
an Enormous Growth
Great Increase Of the Net Tonnage of
Vessels Is Remarkable Feature

Agent Charles M. Pepper inquired INTO
the operations of the Suez canal. and
furnishes the annexed report, in which
facts and figures regarding the opera
tions OF the great waterway are sup
plemented by observations and deduc-
tions on the relation which Suez Will
bear to the future In international trade
and especially with the trade Of the Far
East. Pepper writes:
! Traffic through the Suez canal offers
a means Of measuring the worlds mari
time commerce between the West and
the East. The striking fact in relation
| to Suez is not so much the growth In
the volume of the traffic. though that
has been enormous, as the increase In
the net tonnage of the vessels passing
4 through the canal. For the year 1905
the increase in the mean tonnage, which
was stationary the previous year. was
from 3163 to 3191 tons. In 1885 the
| Increase was approximately 80 per cent.
! This is declared to be In line with the
principles of modern shipbuilding,
which look to the progression in the
mean gauge of vessels as one of the
essentials of progress in maritime con-.
struction. The increase in capacity has
been greater than in the number of ves
sells constructed, the universal tendency
also being to augment the interior ca
pacity proportionately more than the
ships dimensions and speed, though the
|
it is explained, results from the fact
that the cost diminishes in inverse ratio
| to the vessels dimensions, and conse-
Quently in the class of vessels travers-
| ing the canal the cost increases as the
square of the linear dimensions. while
the benefits are In proportion to capac-
ity or on the cube of the same dimen-
sions-that is, by doubling the dimen-
sions of vessel the net tonnage be-
/ comes eight times greater.
THE fact that the early difficulties
with compound engines were overcome
almost simultaneously with the opening
/ of Suez and reduced space for the ma
| chinery was secured, while high and
low pressure engineo enabled the steam
pressure to be raised SO as to double
| and quadruple the motive power OBJ
| tainable from a ton of coal, must also
4 be recognized in analyzing the increase
4 in net tonnage and the growth in the
volume of traffic through the canal
| The facilities for increasing the number
| of vessels passing were materially en-
larged in 1887, when, by means of cleo
trio lights, night navigation was al
lowed, and since then has continued
without interruption.
The measures taken by the canal
company for keeping up with the ad-
vances in shipbuilding. while not al
| ways equal to the demands OF the YES
sci owners, appear to have been fairly
adequate, especially since the energetic
agitation began by the British ship
owners and exporters in 1888, which
took on an international character and
resulted in the formation of a consulta-
tive commission of engineers and ship
owners. This association sent sub
committee to inspect the canal works
and report on the improvements which
were thought to be necessary. This
Subcommittee made numerous recon-
mendations for widening the surface
of the straight reaches and curves and
for deepening the channel to nine me-
ters
The canal at the outset had me-
ters (26 feet) depth and % meters (73
feet) surface width. 1t is interesting
to recall that the subcommittee was
lcredited with the belief that the pro-
posed deepening of the channel and the
4 other improvements recommended
would prove sufficient for all future
| needs. Yet the improvements under
way at the present time have deepened
the channel to 10.5 meters, and since
the beginning OF 1905 vessels with a
draught of 27 feet (S.2s meters) have
been admitted to navigation. an in
crease of inches draught over the
previous year. This is the outcome of
progressive work begun in 1885 for
deepening the channel to S.5 meters
This work was completed in April, 1890,
and ships Of 7.8 meters draught were
admitted to transit. At the same time
the widening of the surface by Is me-
ters, or approximately so feet, was
commenced and their operation COM
pleted In December, 1898. The
two improvements involved the excava-
tion of 22,000,000 cubic meters of earth,
mud and sand. of which one fifth was
done by hand labor. From 1895 the
deepening operations continued, and In
January. 1902, vessels with a draught
OF meters, or 26A feet, were admitted
to transit.
During this period the curves were
rounded off so as to give increased IA
cilities for the passing of vessels and
thereby shorten the time in transit, ad-
ditional signal stations were estab-
lished and crossing places fixed at
every five kilometers. or about three
miles, with an extra width of 15 me-
ters. During 1905 the excavations in
the canal proper in deepening the chan
mel to los meters amounted to 1,354, ,5SS
'fcubic meters, while the regular works
involved the extraction of 1,20S,06S GU
bic meters by hand labor and 91S, 754
cubic meters by dredges, the latter in
cluding $4,000 cubic meters of rock
excavation.
"The improvements now in progress
include the definite enlargement by
fifteen meters from kilometers sixty
one to Suez, a distance of fifty miles;
the extension of the Asiatic curve
from Lake Timsah station from 1900
to 5000 meters; the broadening of the
station from 500 to 500 meters, and the
enlargement of the canal surface to
100 meters surface width at the de-
bouches in Great Bitter Lake. The
latter works will require the excava-
tion of 6,450,000 cubic meters of earth
and will require five years.
while the prevailing winds and the
mud nature of the soil at the Red Sea
entrance to the canal necessitate con- :
tinuous dredging to keep the Suez or
Port Tewfik channel open, the most
extensive permanent improvements are
at Port Said, the Mediterranean en-
trance, where 1t was necessary to Gre
ate harbor. Very extensive improve
ments are now in progress. and it is
the intention to double the size of the
, harbor. The new basis on the Asiatic