3.2.2. Water Transport Infrastructure

Ancient Greeks heavily relied on sea travel as land travel was difficult. Greece is a series of archipelagos and peninsulas, surrounded by the Ionian, Mediterranean, and Aegean Sea, which they traversed by trireme ships. Beyond travel, they instituted maritime trade and frequented the ports of Canopus before Alexandria in Egypt and Messina in Sicily from Athens. Ostia Antica and Portus were later set up in Rome, and Swahili kingdoms of East Africa were described to have vibrant trade ports.

Historically, seaports have played a vital role in trade and travel, especially for civilizations surrounded by water. The ancient Greeks utilized their coastal geography, relying on sea travel due to the challenging terrain for land travel. Seaports function not only for docking ships but also for the exchange of goods and services, which further enhances the economy. For example, Rome developed important ports like Ostia Antica to facilitate trade with other regions.

Think of a seaport as a bustling shopping mall by the seaside. Just as shoppers come to buy and trade goods at a mall, ships come to ports to offload goods from different regions, making ports central to economic activity.

Civil engineering plays a crucial role in the design of water transportation and construction of ports and harbours. Ports are locations where ships and vessels can dock and allow movement of people and goods and are either on coasts or shores, while harbours are constructed for the safe keeping of the vessels.

Civil engineers are essential in designing and building the infrastructure of ports and harbours. This includes ensuring that ports are properly positioned for docking and that they can handle the size and weight of modern ships. Engineers also design harbours to protect vessels from rough waters, making ports functional and safe for operations.

Imagine if a mall was built on a muddy field without proper planning. It would quickly become unusable. Similarly, ports need solid foundations and infrastructure to function, which is where civil engineers come in to create safe and efficient designs.

The beginning of rails marked the demise of canals and inland waterways, which used to be the preferred mode of transportation. All ancient civilisations settled around rivers, such as, the Indus civilisation along Indus River, Mesopotamia between the Tigris-Euphrates, Memphis (Egypt) along the Nile. Several prominent European capital cities, such as London, Paris and Amsterdam all are also along rivers.

Inland waterways and canals were once major transportation routes for trade and travel, allowing goods to move efficiently between cities located along rivers. However, as railways became more popular, many canals fell into disuse. This change illustrates the shift in transportation preferences over time and reflects how advancements in technology can change infrastructure needs.

Think of a busy highway that has been replaced by a more efficient expressway. Similarly, many ancient canals have been overshadowed by railroads, which can move goods more quickly over long distances, although canals had their heyday just like the highway did.

Two of the most ambitious canal projects that are engineering feats are; the Suez canal, also referred to as Qanat al Suway (length of 193Km with branches, depth of 20m and width of 205m) across the Isthumus of Suez in Egypt which connects the Gulf of Suez and the Mediterranean, thereby allowing a quicker path between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the Panama canal (length of 82Km with branches, depth of 12m and width of 150m) which connects the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans across the Isthmus of Panama amidst the Caribbean.

The Suez and Panama Canals are two of the most significant engineering achievements in history. They demonstrate how man-made canals can drastically reduce travel times for ships, thus enhancing global trade by providing shortcuts between major bodies of water. These projects show the importance of civil engineering in facilitating international commerce and the advancements in technology that allow for such massive undertakings.

Consider these canals as shortcuts in a travel itinerary. Just like a shorter route on a road map can save time and fuel, these canals save ships from having to travel long ocean routes, curtailing travel times and costs significantly, which benefits trade.

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