with dangerous cargo (such as radioactive or flammable materials) to pass if they conform with the latest amendments provided by international conventions. The SCA has the right to determine the number of tugs required to assist warships traversing the canal, to achieve the highest degree of safety during transit. Operation Before August 2015, the canal was too narrow for free two-way traffic, so ships had to pass in convoys and use bypasses. The bypasses were out of (40%). From north to south, they are Port Said bypass (entrances) , Ballah bypass & anchorage , Timsah bypass , and the Deversoir bypass (northern end of the Great Bitter Lake) . The bypasses were completed in 1980. Typically, it would take a ship 12 to 16 hours to transit the canal. The canal's 24-hour capacity was about 76 standard ships. In August 2014, Egypt chose a consortium that includes the Egyptian army and global engineering firm Dar Al-Handasah to develop an international industrial and logistics hub in the Suez Canal area, and began the construction of a new canal section from combined with expansion and deep digging of the other of the canal. This will allow navigation in both directions simultaneously in the central section of the canal. These extensions were formally opened on 6 August 2015 by President Al-Sisi. Convoy sailing Since the canal does not cater to unregulated two-way traffic, all ships transit in convoys on regular times, scheduled on a 24-hour basis. Each day, a single northbound convoy starts at 04:00 from Suez. At dual lane sections, the convoy uses the eastern route. Synchronised with this convoy's passage is the southbound convoy. It starts at 03:30 from Port Said and so passes the Northbound convoy in the two-lane section. Canal crossings From north to south, the crossings are: The El Nasr pontoon bridge (), connecting Port Said to Port Fuad. Opened in 2016, length. The Abanoub Gerges pontoon bridge (), north of the Suez Canal Bridge The Suez Canal Bridge (), also called the Egyptian-Japanese Friendship Bridge, a high-level road bridge at El Qantara. In Arabic, al qantara means "arch". Opened in 2001, it has a clearance over the canal and was built with assistance from the Japanese government and by Kajima. El Ferdan Railway Bridge () north of Ismailia () was completed in 2001 and is the longest swing-span bridge in the world, with a span of 340