The canal allows passage of ships up to 62 feet draft or 210,000 deadweight tons and up to a maximum height of 68 m above water level and a maximum beam of 254 ft 3 in (under certain conditions). Improvements are planned to increase draft to 22 m (72 ft) by 2010, allowing passage of fully-laden supertankers. 

Some supertankers are too large. Others can offload part of their cargo onto a canal-owned boat to reduce their draft, transit, and reload at the other end of the canal.

Capacity
Old Cairo to the Red Sea
Connections between the shores
Operation