Dover Strait: The busiest shipping route in the world

The Dover Strait or the Strait of Dover is a vital maritime route in the Western European region located at the narrowest part of the English Channel. It is the strait that separates the English Channel and the North Sea, and a boundary between Great Britain and France, or continental Europe.

The strait has a width of 18-25 miles, while the depth of the strait is between 120 to 180 feet. Across the Dover Strait, the shortest distance is 20.7 miles, from the South Foreland to Cap Gris Nez, a cape near Calais in France.

Since the width of the strait is less, it is possible to see the opposite coastline of both the countries with the naked eye on a clear day.

Geologists suggest that the Strait was created, half a million years ago, by the erosion of a land bridge that connected Great Britain and mainland Europe. Researchers claim that water suddenly started cascading over the narrow strip of land and eventually damaged the natural bridge hundreds of thousands of years later in a two-stage process.

The new study published this year said the first breach must have happened about 450,000 years ago, creating a smaller channel compared to the existing one. The second one probably happened hundreds of thousands of years later, created a catastrophic breach, separating Britain from France completely.

Since the exact period of these events remains uncertain, the Geologists from UK, Belgium and France are planning to drill into the seafloor in order to retrieve samples from the plunge pool sediments, hoping to determine the precise time.

The Strait of Dover, which is considered to be the busiest maritime route in the world, has been a mainstay of the European shipping network for several years now. In spite of its narrowness, the Strait’s geographic location is quite distinct.

Both for vessels wanting to cross the English harbours and enter European harbours and for those entering the North and the Baltic Sea through the English Channel, passing over the Dover Strait is unavoidable.

Statistically, it is estimated that the Dover Strait sees the passage of around 400-ships on an everyday basis. These vessels transit through the Strait of Dover are not only cargo-carrying ships but also Voyager and specific Ro/Ro ferryboats.

The harbour of Dover on the strait’s British side and the harbour of Calais on its French side are two of the world’s most engaged harbours located along the Strait. Since it is a major transportation link between the two countries and also part of a busy shipping route, traffic safety has become a critical issue in the water in recent times.

And, the significance of the Strait has been further emphasised with several necessary protocols set up in order to enable a safer and more secure passage through the strait. In addition, the Dover Strait is also referred to as the Strait of Calais on account of its significance to the French maritime domain.

Alongside, being a crucial marine entryway, the Dover Strait is also a popular recreational swimming location, especially for swimmers wanting to cross the English Channel.

Meanwhile, in order to reduce the traffic in the Strait, the 50.45-kilometre-long Channel Tunnel was opened in 1994 between the UK and France.

The underwater rail tunnel, one of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken in the UK, connects Folkestone in UK and Coquelles in France.

Marine Insight