Tiger, one of the world's largest vehicle carriers, crossed Egypt's Suez Canal on Wednesday with the legendary train L’Orient Express on board.
Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Chairman Osama Rabie said the crossing is part of the carrier's voyage from the port of Antwerp in Belgium to Singapore.
Rabie added the Suez Canal is a key route for global trade traffic between East and West.
The carrier is owned by Wallenius/Eukor shipping line. It is 222.7 metres long, 32 metres wide, with a draft of 32 feet, and a total tonnage of 80,000 tons.
The Orient Train is a historical vessel. The tractor wagon and carriages date back to 1850 and 1883, respectively.
The train used to link Europe and the East, with its journeys extending to Paris, London, Istanbul, Syria, Baghdad, Cairo, and Cataract in Aswan, among other destinations.
The trip is part of a plan by the Arab World Institute (AWI) in Paris to organise the "Orient Express Exhibition" in Singapore in December, marking the first museum display of the train outside France, according to the SCA statement.
Claude Mollard, head of AWI, expressed gratitude to the Suez Canal contribution as a link between East and West, similar to the role the Orient Express played in the past.
The Suez Canal, which is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia, is one of Egypt's main sources of foreign currency.
In May, the strategic canal saw the crossing of the world's largest container vessel, South Korea’s HMM’s new 24,000 TEU-class containership HMM Algeciras during its maiden journey through the Asia-North Europe trade lane.
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