Why Russia Tried to Block This Canal

this is Poland to the north is the Baltic Sea an important Waterway home to several ports and a connection for surrounding countries now take a look at this tiny Slither of land right here between Lithuania and Poland that's kening grads a Russian exclave that serves as the country's only ice free port on the sea the zone is causing a bit of tension with its neighbors when it comes to trade and travel you see for ships to access this port in Poland they first had to pass through Russian controlled Waters something that after years of problems Poland didn't really want to do anymore so starting in 2019 officials built this the Vistula Canal at over a kilometer long the new channel now allows polish ships to avoid passing through the Russian Strait it's a $450 million construction project that Russia really wasn't happy about in fact it even tried to stop the canal from being built after that's [Music] all you may remember back in 2021 when a new story about a certain container ship went [Music] viral look at all these ships they can't get through oh no for 6 days the everg given halted trade through the sewers Canal which heavily impacted Global Supply chains while it was temporary the incident highlighted the importance of canals to the world's economy and shipping industry these routes provide more direct shortcuts through L masses and cut down time and costs when it comes to trade and in the case of the new vular canal in Poland they can also be a strategic move before its construction ships headed towards the port of Elon had to take a detour through this straight of kining grat and because Russia controlled this area it often shut down the straight or charge ships to pass through it making Poland reluctantly dependent on its not so favorite neighbor so in 2019 Poland began construction on a canal through this stretch of land known as the Vista spit the new Canal would decrease the country's Reliance on Russian permissions while also creating a faster and shorter route that would ultimately save time and money and that freedom from Russian influence became especially important following the invasion of Ukraine now before we get into the details you should know that designing a canal like this requires engineers and construction workers to have a pretty strong grasp of stem subjects but if that's something that normally makes your head start to swim there's a new way to learn that's fun easy and free to start a tight lock on mathematics and physics are necessary for any civil engineer this week's video sponsor Brilliance has cses that easily break down complex Concepts into Quick lessons that are simple to follow and will get you a float in no time it's a great way to visualize problems and solutions like understanding formulas for hydraulic systems brilliant has thousands of lessons which help to break down complicated subjects ranging from the fundamentals like calculus to something like data analysis which could help you level up your career to get started try a free 30-day offer by visiting brilliant.org the b1m or by clicking the link in the description the first 200 people to sign up will receive a 20% discount of their annual subscription now let's dive into exactly how this canal was constructed workers began by Excavating the 2 km wide stretch of lands which encloses the Lagoon the dug up sand would create a space for the new Channel Once cleared the remaining slopes were strengthened with a geogrid synthetic material and top soiling in order to prevent erosion the excavated stand was first stored in piles but instead of being carried off it was used to create a new artificial Island that 5 km wide Island began as an empty ring until it was slowly filled up with the transported Earth and ultimately became a in ground for birds as dredging continued construction of The Brak Waters began to take shape these are permanent structures built out into the water to hold back swells and tights workers drove in sheet piles near the base a type of vertical steel retaining wall to strengthen the structures over 10,000 concrete blocks ranging from about 2 to nearly 10 tons in weights were interlocked blocks like this are used on all sorts of coastal infrastructure but a special design was used on the fistula canal unlike its predecessors each block had a hole in the middle to reduce water pressure and increase stability throughout the wall it also enabled faster and more accurate installation with up to 100 blocks a day being put into place when completed the western side reached over 500 M long with the Eastern side running to over 1,000 M at the center of the whole project is the lock because the bay and Lagoon have different water levels the lock serves as a sort of boat elevator that raises and lowers the water so ships can pass through the channel smoothly the Vista Canal lock is a 270 M system of four Gates each weighing about 160 tons each one can be moved along a set of rails using a series of ropes once a boat enters the lower part of the lock the first of these steel Gates closes behind it stopping any water from exiting the chamber when a section within the upper Gates opens water flows into the lower section and raises the ship to the height of the upper portion of the canal after it reaches an equal level the next set of gates open and the ship finally goes through to the other side but of course ships aren't the only thing that need to move along this channel that would be too easy the Vista Canal also has to take into account another type of traffic cars the solution a road system consisting of not one but two swinging bridges over the lock commonly built in canals swing Bridges typically rotate about 90° around a Center Point when a vessel needs to travel through at the Vistula each Bridge swings open alternately ever since the canal opened in 2022 the Polish government has celebrated its success Russia on the other hand has not been so happy according to polish government officials Russia feared the strengthened independence and sovereignty that Poland would gain from the project for years Russian news outlets have published reports criticizing the scheme they cited environmental con concerns alleging the project would drive local species of birds and fish towards Extinction they also claimed it was essentially a waste of money after all the canal is not deep enough yet to allow large cargo ships to pass through therefore according to Russian coverage the investment put in would never reap the returns other narratives included how the canal was a direct military threat and an illegal project under EU regulations the Polish government has denied these accusations saying that Kremlin is pushing false propaganda and depending on who you ask the truth kind of depends and ultimately sits somewhere between the two camps in a report by the guardian ecological experts said the canal would only have minimal environmental impacts but on the economic side only about 12 medium ships can go through the canal daily and according to a study by a Polish University it would take 650 years to make a return but the plan is to deepen it eventually to allow for larger ships in the end despite Russia's multiple attempts at stopping the Vistula Canal they ultimately failed and in a seemingly symbolic move the Canal's opening coincided with the anniversary of when Soviet troops invaded Poland during World War 2 stories like this show how construction projects can become manifestations of the relationships between countries infrastructure like the channel tunnel or Gordy how Bridge can connect allies but not all countries looking to strengthen their connection today the Vistula Canal stands not only as a new pathway for ships but as a lasting symbol of Independence for Poland this video was sponsored by brilliant you can learn more about that at the link below don't forget that we're inspiring the next generation of Builders through our investment into brick borrow a fantastic Lego subscription service you can learn more and get started today over at brick.com and as always if you enjoy this video and you want to get more from the definitive video channel for construction make sure you subscribe to the b1m

Channel: The B1M

Views: 4,396,805

Keywords: B1M, TheB1M, Construction, architecture, engineering, The B1M, Fred Mills, building, poland, canal, baltic, baltic canal, vistula canal, baltic sea, canal lock, suez canal, Elblag, elblag poland, Vistula Spit, Ukraine, breakwater, polish, europe, eastern europe

Id: ibdSCPhfxBo

Length: 8min 50sec (530 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 07 2024