The Reopened Suez Canal in International Law

תקציר

On June 5, 1975, the Suez Canal was reopened to international shipping after being closed for exactly eight years, and by the end of the year, traffic through the Canal had nearly reached its pre-1967 level. On November 2, 1975, the Greek freighter Olympos cleared the Suez Canal and headed towards the Israeli port of Eilat with a cargo of Rumanian cement. This was the first shipment to pass through the Canal to an Israeli destination since 1959, when the waterway had been completely closed to cargoes going to and from Israel. It has always been and still is closed to Israeli ships. The reopening of the Canal to navigation in general, and to Israeli cargoes in particular, has roused hopes for a better, more peaceful future in the area. In view of the importance of the Canal to international commercial and military shipping, and the hopes linked to its reopening, it is appropriate to examine the Canal's legal regime against the background of the general law of maritime canals, and the prospects for its future.