# Comparative Studies of Major Sea Routes
## 2 Analysis of the Main Sea Routes Situation and Review of the Literature  
Sea routes connecting the main economic regions of the world are very important for the development of economic relations and influence the development of the world economy [1,4,14]. The main global sea routes have their advantages and disadvantages, so it is very important to study them not only as economic \"engines\" but also to study their risks and disadvantages. Figure 1 shows the main sea routes of the ships sailing in the world, including the main shipping routes between Southeast Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal, around the African continent, the Panama Canal, and the North Sea route [18]. The main sea routes and distances between the primary Southeast Asian port of Shanghai and the European port of Rotterdam are [19]:  
* Via the Suez Canal (distance about 10,800 n.m.);
* Around the African continent (distance about 14,100 n.m.);
* Via the Panama Canal (distance about 14,000 n.m.);
* Using the Northern Sea route (distance about 9000 n.m.). Land (railways) or combined (sea transport to Russian or Iranian ports and railways) routes can also be used, using the Trans-Siberian railway or the railways of China, Kazakhstan, Transcaucasia, Russia, and Central and Western European countries. The main  
Figure 1: Main sea routes in the world [18]. problems in using the possible specified transport corridors are associated with additional cargo transshipments, insufficiently developed land transport infrastructure for the transportation of large cargo flows between the selected regions, and, in many cases, political problems. The analysis of sea routes combines many factors, the most important of which are the economic and world trade situations [1; 2; 7; 11; 15], the safety of ships and shipping as a whole [3; 6; 9], navigational and hydro-meteorological conditions [16], energy (fuel) consumption on a specific sea route [20], environmental impact assessment [21; 22; 23; 24], and others. The sea route through the Suez Canal has been in operation since the middle of the 19 th century and has been reconstructed several times in the last 150 years, and it currently allows for the passage of ships of unlimited length, a width up to 75 m, and a draft up to 20 m [21] (Figure 2). For the analysis of the situation, it is appropriate to take the major port in Southeast Asia, Shanghai, and in Western Europe, Rotterdam. The distance between the specified ports is about 10,800 miles. With ships sailing at an average speed of 18 knots, the sailing time is about 600 h (without intermediate port calls). The sea route through the Suez Canal is also important because it passes through relatively good geographical and hydro-meteorological conditions. The main drawback of this sea route is the unstable political situation in the regions of the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, and as a result, navigation is complicated or stopped [21; 22]. A significant disadvantage of the Suez Canal is that until now, individual parts of the canal are one-way (Figure 3), and in the event of a navigational accident in such a part of the canal, as happened in 2021, the movement of ships in the canal is completely halted [7; 8]. Figure 2: Suez Canal and ships in canal [18]. The sea route around the African continent is important because, in theory, there are no special navigation restrictions and it can be used by any vessel. The total distance from Shanghai to Rotterdam is about 14,100 nautical miles, and if the ship can sail at an average speed of 17 or more knots, which is acceptable for large container ships, the sailing time is about 780 h. At the same time, the sea route around Africa has serious disadvantages related to hydro-meteorological conditions since, in the southern parts of the Indian and Atlantic oceans, there are frequent storms, and there is a high probability for ships to encounter particularly strong waves [25]. Extremely large waves are dangerous for smaller ships, as well as dangerous for large ships and their cargo [25].