English Channel and the Straits of Dover link the North Sea (and therefore the entire east coast of Britain, the ports of western Europe and the Baltic Sea) and the rest of the world. It narrows to about 20 nautical miles between the British port of Dover and Calais in France, and thousands of ship pass through this extremely busy waterway each year. Adding to the shipping traffic is the great number of ferries moving between Britain and France or Spain or the Channel Islands. Among the important ports lying on the English Channel are Portsmouth (Britain’s main naval port) and Southampton (a busy commercial British port) and the French ports of Le Havre, Brest and Cherbourg.
Because it lies at the meeting of relatively warm water from the North Atlantic Drift and colder water in the North Sea, fog often covers the area, while westerly gales often cause very heavy seas in the area.
Important cargoes that pass through these straits: Containers, grain; minerals, steel. Because of the importance of the North Sea oilfields and the volume of oil being brought from numerous other oil-producing countries to refineries in western Europe, tankers form a significant percentage of ships passing through this area. Large numbers of product tankers also pass through this convergence zone.
Times when the Straits were in the News: During both World Wars (1914-1918 and 1939-1945) the English Channel/Straits of Dover area became a major war area, with attacks on Allied shipping by German “e-boats” (fast motor launches, some of which had torpedoes), submarines, and, in World War 2, aircraft. In 1940, the German forces that invaded France trapped thousands of Allied soldiers on the beaches around Dunkirk (France) and hundreds of vessels – ranging from warships to small yachts – put to sea from British ports to undertake a major – and successful – evacuation of the troops. Some learners may enjoy the book The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico, a short novel that tells a moving story set during the Dunkirk evacuation.
When Allied forces invaded Europe to liberate countries from German occupation in 1944, the invasion began on the beaches of Normandy (France). As the beaches of Normandy border on the English Channel and Straits of Dover, many ships were in the area to land the invading forces and to bring military equipment to the beaches while warships and aircraft provided cover by bombarding German gun positions. Once the war was over (May 1945) normal shipping resumed, and over 30000 vessels pass through this area each year.
Allied troops land on the Normandy beaches (France) in June 1944. This invasion was to drive the German forces out of France and ultimately to force the surrender of Germany itself. Source of photograph unknown
Because of the high concentration of shipping in this narrow area, accidents occur from time to time, some causing significant oil pollution, e.g. the grounding of the tanker Amoco Cadiz in March 1978 which spilt a large quantity of crude oil along the French coast; the tanker Erika that broke in two off the French coast in 1999, spilling her cargo of bunker oil; the containership MSC Napoli that was beached deliberately off the British coast to prevent a major pollution incident in January 2007, and the vehicle carrier Tricolor that capsized and sank after a collision in December 2002. These are only some of the more noteworthy accidents in the area, but many more minor collisions or incidents occur in this crowded waterway.