Draft is depth, not width. The Suez Canal is wide enough for the largest ships in the world. I know this because I sailed on one through the Suez, twice. The ship was an Ultra Large Crude Carrier owned by Kuwait. Her original name was the Al-Rekkah. She had been damaged by a mine in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war. For ships operating in the Gulf at that time it was also called the Tanker War. Each side was attacking oil tankers in the Gulf. To gain the protection of the US Navy, the ship was re-flagged US and re-named the SS Bridgeton. She was 1250 feet long, with a 200 foot beam and about 35 foot of draft when light. She was able to pass through the Suez Canal when light, but when loaded with 380,000 tons of crude oil her draft increased to about 76 feet. This was too deep for the Suez canal, so we had to sail back to Rotterdam around the Cape of Good Hope.
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Draft is depth, not width. The Suez Canal is wide enough for the largest ships in the world. I know this because I sailed on one through the Suez, twice. The ship was an Ultra Large Crude Carrier owned by Kuwait. Her original name was the Al-Rekkah. She had been damaged by a mine in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war. For ships operating in the Gulf at that time it was also called the Tanker War. Each side was attacking oil tankers in the Gulf. To gain the protection of the US Navy, the ship was re-flagged US and re-named the SS Bridgeton. She was 1250 feet long, with a 200 foot beam and about 35 foot of draft when light. She was able to pass through the Suez Canal when light, but when loaded with 380,000 tons of crude oil her draft increased to about 76 feet. This was too deep for the Suez canal, so we had to sail back to Rotterdam around the Cape of Good Hope.