Greece has the world’s narrowest shipping canal. Why not all ships can pass through it, and those that do, do so very carefully

In Greece there is an unusual landmark located on the water – the Corinth Canal.

It is an artificially dug canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf. Its shape lies in its very narrow width, which is only 24.6 meters.

Because of this, many ships simply cannot pass through the canal, and those that can do so very carefully so as not to touch the wall. In general, the spectacle is fascinating.

This is offtopic. If you are not interested, you can read other articles from this section.

Briefly

• When was the channel launched?
  Why was it built?
  What’s wrong with the Corinth Canal
  What is the channel famous for today?
  How to visit the channel

When was the channel launched?

Corinth Canal on the map

Sailors and Greek rulers have been warring on this canal for over 2,000 years. The first documented ruler to propose a canal was Periander in the 7th century BC.

But the construction of the years was abandoned for a variety of reasons. Mostly, many rulers feared that the lands could be flooded due to the discrepancy in the levels of the Aegean and Ionian Seas.

Construction of the canal began on May 5, 1882, 60 years after the Greek Revolution. Its design was carried out by Istvan Türr and Béle Gerster, who had previously been the architects of the Panama Canal.

The opening of the Corinth Canal in 1893. Painting by Konstantinos Volanakis

The Corinth Canal was opened on August 7, 1893.Its construction, which lasted more than 10 years, did not go entirely smoothly.

Initially, the construction was entrusted to a French company, but in the middle of the work it went bankrupt and did not deliver the project. Then the construction was transferred to the Greek bank Andreas Singros, who completed the work on time.

◦ Back ◬

Why was it built?

Before the canal was shown, the Gulf of Corinth was not connected to the Saronic Gulf, which created a problem for trade.

To get to the Isthmus of Corinth, sailors had to go around the entire Peloponnese peninsula. The outer sea route was dangerous due to strong winds.

This led to the construction of the 6 km long and 3-4 m long fiber road called Diolkos in Ancient Greece. When ships approached from the Gulf of Corinth, they were unloaded and the ships were loaded onto beams, and then people dragged them across the entire isthmus.

The remains of Diolkos are still preserved

On the other side, the ships lowered themselves and took on water again, a tedious procedure that took several days and laid the foundation for Corinth’s wealth as a trading power.

It is therefore not surprising that the Warriors’ Canal is 2,000 years old. However, after construction was completed, the canal’s passability was lower than expected.

A ship passes through the Corinth Canal in 1900.

According to preliminary costs, the annual volume of cargo transportation should be 4 million tons. But in 1913, 20 years after the canal was launched, the turnover reached 1.5 million tons.

There were several reasons for the decrease in traffic:

▪️ The channel is difficult to navigate as it is narrow, often subject to strong winds and currents.

▪️ The high stone walls of the canal were widened. From 1893 to 1940, it was closed several times for work on various walls.

▪️ In 1944, the Germans blew up the canal to remove its structure and disturb repair work. The canal was repaired only in 1948.

But despite all these subtleties, the channel still creates the appearance of trading.

The histories agree that without the Corinth Canal, Central Greece would be a different place today. Its construction led to the emergence of the Port of Piraeus, one of the stable trading ports of the Mediterranean, which relied heavily on Athens.

◦ Back ◬

What’s wrong with the Corinth Canal

The Corinth Canal project was initially very complex. The height of its wall is 84 meters, which is quite a lot.

The channel is conical in shape. Its width at the bottom is only 21 metersand on the surface 24.6 metersmaking it the narrowest shipping channel in the world. Depth about 8 meters.

To transport the incredible masses of stones from the canal during transport, a railway was laid along the bottom.

since the channel is very narrow, it only allows ships to navigate in one direction at a timeOne pass usually takes half an hour. Very large vessels that come to be towed can take half an hour.

Sand and rocks with a rolling pin are constantly in the water, so the channel requires regular maintenance. This causes a high fee for passage: 10 euros per meter of the vessel.

◦ Back ◬

What is the channel famous for today?

The liner Braemar passes through the Corinth Canal

Today, about 11,000 ships pass through the Corinth Canal every year. These are mainly tourist boats and small cruise liners.

Trade ships are also encountered, but they are rather rare. The thing is that they are too big and simply do not fit into the canal.

The Corinth Canal can only be used by vessels no wider than 17.5 meters, although there are occasional exceptions.

The liner Braemar passes through the Corinth Canal

In 2019 The 22.5-metre-long Braemar cruise liner became the largest ship to sail through the Corinth Canal. It was passing by the tow, the distance to the wall was considerable. Imagine that one wrong move, and the side of the ship would catch on the rocky wall of the channel.

The vessel’s draft is 5.5 meters. In some places, the distance from the bottom to the keel was less than 2.5 meters.

Today, the Corinth Canal is crossed by two railway bridges and three road bridges. In addition, on the outer side there are two submersible bridges that supply water to a depth of 11 meters for ships to pass through.

◦ Back ◬

How to visit the channel

Panagiota

The easiest way to get through the canal is on a tour of Athens. There are many companies in the port of Piraeus offering similar services.

Among the cruise liners there are also unique offers, for example, a cruise on the motor sailing ship Panagiota in the style of a classic ship. But a ticket for it costs 1990 euros (~190 thousand rubles).

Finally, if you have a small boat license, you can navigate the Corinth Canal on your own.

◦ Back ◬