Ocean Trading Routes

• The role of rivers, lakes and canals.

• The use and purpose of the panama and

suez canal
 Ocean Trading Routes
• A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of
pathways and stoppages used for the commercial
transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to
trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach
distant markets.
• Ocean Trade routes can be within oceans, rivers, lakes
and canals
Advantages and disadvantages of
ocean trade routes.
• Advantages • Disadvantages
• Important for international • Slow speed
trade
• Piracy
• Transport of bulky goods
• Might get caught in a
• Does not require special storm
infrastructure
• Delaying arrival time by
• The world is connected by avoiding bad weather.
trade routes
Trade Route
 What’s a River ?
• a large natural stream of water flowing in a channel to the
sea, a lake, or another river.
• Rivers can be used to access areas of trade that would not
accessible otherwise.
• An example of a river that is used for trading is the
Columbia river which runs through the united states and
Canada. It allows ships to access inland cities such as:
Portland and Vancouver.
• A disadvantages of using rivers for trade is that certain
parts of the rivers can get very narrow or shallow which
makes it risky to move large ships through the river.
 What’s a Lake?
• a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size,
surrounded by land.
• Lakes are good for trade because they boarder many
different countries and cities.
• An example of a lake use for trade is the great lakes in the
United States and Canada. These lakes are used for trade
between various cities within the United States and
Canadian region. Some of the cities includes Chicago,
Detroit, Cleveland and Toronto.
• One disadvantage of using lakes for trade is that most
lakes do not have easily accessible paths to other trade
routes.
 What is a canal?
• A man-made waterway constructed to allow the passage
of boats or ships inland.
• Canals are usually used to allow ships to cross from one
ocean or sea to another without taking long journeys
around large land masses.
• There are canals all over the world that are all used for
different purposes. Two major canals are the Panama
canal and the Suez canal.
 Advantages and Disadvantages of an
canal?
ADVANTAGES
• the ease of shipping goods.
• Water transport is the cheapest, compared to rail and road.
DISADVANTAGE
• Canals require significant manpower to build and maintain (very
costly)
• Boats travel slowly.
• They also only work in areas that are reasonably flat. They are
also susceptible to flooding, droughts, freezing, and other
natural occurrences.
 The Panama Canal
• The Panama Canal is a man-made 48-mile waterway in
panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific
Ocean. A cruise through this historic waterway can take
you to ports of call in Mexico, Columbia, Costa Rico,
Jamaica, Nicaragua and Panama.
• Lush rainforests, historical settlements, nature preserves
filled with exotic wildlife and clear waters teeming with
coral.
• The Panama Canal is system of locks that shorten the travel
time and distance form the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic
Ocean. After France unsuccessfully attempted to build a
canal through isthmus of Panama in the 1800s, the United
States began building the Canal in 1904.
 The Panama Canal
• The canal permits shippers of commercial goods, ranging
from automobiles to grain, to save time and money by
transporting cargo more quickly.
• Prior to the completion of the canal, a ship sailing between
New York and San Francisco had to sail around Cape
Horn, the southernmost point of South America.
• This 12,000 mile trip took 67 days. After the Canal was
completed approximately 8,000 miles were eliminated
from the trip.
• This allowed more ships of various sizes to carry millions of
tons of cargo through the Canal each day.
 The Panama Canal
• Military importance
• Interests grew in shorter routes for naval ships that required
passage between two oceans.
• In 1903 Panama sold its rights to the Canal to the United
States for $10,000,000
• Unites States Military had a strong presence in the Panama
Canal zone until 1999 when all U.S Military bases were
closed in Panama
• The Panama Canal is still used to transport military water
vessels
 The Panama Canal
• Future of the panama canal
• Pressure on Carbon emissions, drive the marine industry to
build bigger vessels to transport more loads of cargo.
• These vessels can no longer be accommodated by the
locks of the Canal.
• This creates traffic jams at the canal that delay cargo up to
a week
• The expansion of the Canal is expected to double
The Panama Canal
How The Panama Canal Works?
 The Suez Canal
• Suez canal is the first man made canal to cross land, it
connects the Mediterranean sea to the red sea.
• It is considered the shortest link to the East and West
• Due to its unique geographical position the Suez canal is of
great importance to t he world and more significant to
Egypt.
• It is 120 miles long and it is estimated that 17000 vessels
pass each year.
• It was opened for navigation on 17th of November 1869.
 Advantages of the Suez Canal
• Longest Canal in the world without locks
• Accidents are almost nil in comparison to other waterways
• Navigation is both day and night
• It can be expanded as required for ships of all sizes
• VTMS allows for monitoring in case of emergency
Image of the Suez canal