Technological Advances in World Trade Routes

Global trade has been a crucial aspect of the world’s efficiency. Specifically, sea trade has had the most significant impact on making the global economy far better off. This StoryMap will explore the four main trade routes from Europe to Asia, as they have primarily been the two largest traders throughout history. And we will explain all the technical advancements which made each route possible and the various benefits each route provided to the global supply chain. To represent the data within our research, we will use digital mapping to effectively display the effects each trading route had on the overall sailing efficiency and economic benefits that followed. Finally, we will explain how each trading route is used in todays complex supply chain system.

Trade route discussed by James Huang

The Horn of Africa, or otherwise known as the Somali Peninsula is the fourth largest peninsula in the world, its scopes out the beginning of early trade between Europe and Asia. It was set along the southern boundary of the Red Sea and marked the beginnings of early trade through the Southern Passage. The Horn of Africa consisted of many countries like Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia. It is here that marks the origins of early trading regions that will further link and open up more advanced trading routes such as the Northwest passage, and newer canals. (Horn of Africa, 2021)

Early trade routes started through the Horn of Africa during the 1st and 7th Century AD. It was noted the Somalia was an important link in the Horn of Africa in connecting different regions in commerce with the rest of the ancient world. It was through these trading posts that Somali merchants and traders would sell items like frankincense, myrrh, and spices. (Horn of Africa, 2021)

The importance of this trade now meant that the world would advance further as different countries would be able to gain resources that were not accessible to them in their locations. It is important to us as we are trying to advance the world, allowing those that are not so well off to become better suited by sending resources they need. The world is trying to create more value in everything it does, this means higher efficiency, and it is very important that trade is what accelerates it. 

Trade route discussed by Ty Gillis

John Cabot was the first known European to explore the fabled Northwest Passage. He sailed from England in 1497 looking for a short cut to Asian trade. In 1498, Cabot returned with five ships and over 200 men to try again to reach the Asian continent, Cabot and his men were never seen again. (History.com Editors, 2018)

Perhaps the most famous arctic expeditions to set sail for the passage was that of John Franklin, his 128 men and the HMS Erebus, and HMS Terror in 1845. There is speculation, that before the 128 men perished, that the discovery of the passage was made on foot by Franklin’s men, debris form the expeditions has been discovered all along the route they had been looking for. Inuit tribes described finding evidence of cannibalism among the last survivors of the expedition. (Watson, 128)

The discovery of the passage was an arduous task if we think of the GIS technology of the day. The explorers had crude maps, the stars and a sexton to guide them. A compass (the newest of their GIS equipment on board) would have been rendered all but useless that close to the magnetic pole. (Watson, 2018)

The Northwest route was supposed to become an important trade route between Europe and Asia, cutting the route around the horn of Africa by thousands of miles. However, it soon became evident that the route was not a viable alternative. The explorers had expected to find open water at the North Pole but none was found. (Watson, 2018) After the discovery of the passage, it became evident that the feasibility of the route was far too dependent on weather patterns. Some years the route was traversable by sea, and some years it was not. Were all those lives wasted finding the passage? One could say that the goal of an explorer is simply to explore. The true potential of the Northwest Passage would not be realized for over 100 years.

Today, GIS technology helps shippers navigate the treacherous waters of the Northwest Passage in relative safety. From Satellite imagery of current sea ice conditions, to sophisticated navigation through GPS, the passage has become, as it was always planned a viable trade route. 

When the satellite imagery suggests there is no open water for shipping, or if a container ship becomes beset in ice, it is no longer a death sentence for the crew. It simply requires a ship to shore phone call to Environment Canada. Environment Canada, in conjunction with the Canadian Coast Guard, keeps shipping lanes open, and helps ships beset in ice with their fleet of Ice Breakers.

Most people will be familiar with this image. What does it mean for the Northwest Passage? During the blockage, several ships were re-routed through the Northwest passage. As anybody who has tried to buy a PlayStation 5, or a new truck will tell you, it is important to have alternate transportation corridors available for when supply chains break down, or when capacity becomes an issue. (Rayess, 2021)

Trade route discussed by Kevin Rvachew

In 1840 as the first Industrial Revolution was ending, the world was experiencing the most substantial economic boom. The demand for resources and luxury items by nations were at all-time highs. This caused the first significant boom to maritime trade, ships were now faster and far more efficient than ever before; sea trade was far more economically viable than ever before (Solar, 2013). Because of the drastic improvements to sailing, there was now an evident bottleneck in the global supply chain of sailing and the vast distance those ships had to sail. Therefore, a shortcut was needed to increase sailing efficiency. A 120-kilometre canal that would connect the Mediterranean and the Red Sea seemed to be the most feasible option. Which was estimated to reduce sailing time by roughly 10-12 days. (Marriner & Davis, 2006)

The Suez Canal was an idea dating back to 500 BC when the Persian conqueror of Egypt, Darius, started digging the canal but later stopped. Because he was informed that since the Red Sea was higher than the Mediterranean Sea, it would cause massive flooding if the two were connected. Napoleon later went back to the idea, but the French stopped for the same reason as the Egyptians. Luckily the idea reemerged in 1858, and Ferdinand De Lesseps listened to modern science, which stated that the difference in sea level could not be so substantial that it would cause flooding (Kinross, 1968). So, in 1858 the Suez Canal Company was formed, and construction began in 1859 and lasted until 1869. Construction was done primarily by slaves either digging by hand or using steam shovels. When the canal first opened, it only allowed traffic in one direction and was 8 meters deep, 22 meters wide at the bottom, and 60-90 meters wide at the surface. (Rabino, 1887)

The ten-year construction of the canal cost the Suez Canal Company 16,631,953 Egyptian pounds (E£) in debt, which the company had 99 years to pay back to England. During the canal's first year of operation, 485 ships passed through with a total tonnage of 436,609. The canal was able to profit 82,851 E£ during its third operational year (Rabino, 1887). The canal continued making adjustments like expanding its width and depth to fit larger ships along with lighting so ships could now pass through 24 hours a day. With the canal's significant impact on sailing efficiency, more ships took part in global trade each year with steady growth. There were only two major downturns in international trade, which happened during both world wars. During that time, the world experienced nearly a 50% decrease in global trade for years following (Grossman & Meissner, 2010). International trade is still a crucial aspect of every individual's life, and the Suez Canal is a major part of the world's trading and the general economy. In 2020 the Suez canal Recorded record revenue-earning 5.84B USD with 18500 vessels passing through with 1.2 billion tonnes (Navigation Statistics, n.d.)

The Six-day war went from June 5th-10th 1967 was fought between Egypt and Isreal (plus other supporting armies). Israel defeated Egypt in the war, and Isreal quickly conquered the entire Sinai Peninsula, making the new border between Isreal and Egypt the Suez Canal. The Egyptians were unwilling to let the Israelis use and benefit from the canal, but that would be difficult to unsure. So, the Egyptian Government sunk ships on the entrances of the canal and scattered mines throughout, ensuring no ships could pass through; this lasted until 1975 (8 years of closure). (Mezerik,1969). This closure had many effects on the global economy, but most importantly, its impact on the Petroleum industry. At the time of the closure, Petroleum accounted for 75.4% of the usage of the canal (Bonin, 2005). The eight-year closure of the canal forced oil companies to make much less profit by having to spend much more money and time on shipping. This severe issue caused the Sumed pipeline to be built in 1977, running nearly parallel to the Suez Canal, ensuring oil can always be shipped and that it can be shipped cheaper (Podeh, 2004).

Today the Suez Canal is one of the most crucial waterways globally, accounting for 12% of global trade. In March 2021, a now-famous ship known as the Ever Given (a 400-meter vessel) was passing through the canal when a sandstorm passed and caused the ship to lose steering, lodging the boat in the shore, blocking both flows of traffic. This blockage allowed the world to realize the immense value of the canal. During those seven days, many different items worldwide were becoming more expensive and harder to find due to the massive loss of efficiency in shipping from Asia to Europe. But the effects of this blockage lasted for many months after the blockage was freed. Due to how close the world is to its maximum supply chain output, everything must be at full capacity to keep up the world's supply-demand. Ensuring the canal never has another massive blockage is much harder said than done, as you can't always predict severe weather changes, all the Suez Canal Authority (the company) can do is improve their already extensive GNSS, which takes into consideration weather, visibility, traffic and many other variables which are updated every 0.2 seconds (EL-Kader, El-Soud, El-Serafy, & Hassan, 2003). 

Trade route discussed by Julia Thompson

In 1903, the United States was granted construction permits by Colombia to create the Panama Canal that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The Canal would allow for large ships to transport goods in a shorter time and distance; this would prove to be a significant asset to many economy’s worldwide. (History.com Editors, 2019)

John Wallace, a Chief Engineer, was originally in charge of the project, which was at the time, the most expensive construction project of the United States and currently one of the most difficult. After battling with poor French equipment, disease among the workforce (which led many to quit), and the stress from it all, Wallace retired and John Stevens took his place. In 1905, Stevens recruited west Indian labourers, got new equipment, and hired Dr William Goras who worked to eliminate mosquitos that passed along diseases. Stevens later retired and a no-nonsense commander, Lt. Col. George Washington Goethals took his place. This new leader had a strong command that allowed him to stand up to and end strikes from his workforce. (History.com Editors, 2019)

The Panama Canal was officially opened on Aug 15th, 1914. (History.com Editors, 2019)

On December 31, 1999, the United States handed over control of the Panama Canal to the Panamanian people. Part of the reason for this was because of American mismanagement leading to the rising costs; the American taxpayers no longer gained from the canal's profits. Under the Panama Canal Authority, the canal went under a management revolution and started making long-term investments. As of 2010, the Panama Canal has become one of the most profitable transportation enterprises on the planet. (Gilbert, 2010)

Eventually, to keep up with the growing size of container and bulk ships, the Panama Canal went under expansion and finished in 2016. This improved capacity by almost double and the average size of containerships on the canal increased by 28%. This was beneficial because tolls are based on a ship's type, tonnage and payload, therefore, the bigger ships pay more. (Gooley, 2018)

The Panama Canal has been important to the Panamanian people because it creates millions of jobs. Also the income from the tolls are on average $2 billion dollars a year and steadily increasing. As of the fiscal year 2020, the toll revenue reached over $2.6 billion. (Statistics, 2020)

It’s been proven that having easy access to a large number of trading partners allows places to economically grow faster than those who do not. This was proven after WW2 when market access was reduced for west German cities. (Maurer & Rauch, 2019)

The Panama Canal has a very tight schedule when it comes to ships passing through, so when a traffic jam arises it luckily only delays the ships without reservations. These delays arise as a result of bad weather such as fog and hurricanes, as well, as a result of COVID. In mid October of 2020, waiting time got up to 10 days. (Miller, 2020)

With longer wait times ships tend to burn more fuel and need more resources for the long journey, sometimes ships will plan ahead if there's an expected delay and may choose to go the long way and avoid the Panama Canal altogether. Situations like this may cause the prices of goods to go up.

It wasn’t until 1998 when the Panama Canal adopted GIS as a way of interaction and support for the businesses and users. In the following video, Carlos Contreras, GIS manager for the Panama Canal Authority, explains in an interview how they have adopted and used GIS.

Below is a live map of ships within and around the Panama Canal can be found below. Keep in mind that this website uses AIS (Automatic Identification System) to track ships.

Conclusion

Shipping continues to be an integral part in driving the world economy. There is no more efficient way of transporting goods between continents than that of marine shipping. The thirst for goods has been increasing century over century. And century over century, there have been GIS advancements made to make shipping of goods more efficient. What advancements will the next 100 years bring?

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