Video: Huge cruise ship squeezes through canal to claim record
Cruise passengers held their breath as a 22.5 meter wide cruise liner became the largest boat to pass through Greece's narrow Corinth Canal, according to its operator.
Carrying 929 passengers, the Braemar cruise liner narrowly managed to squeeze through the rocky walls of the canal -- which measures a maximum of 25 meters wide at the water's surface -- making it the longest boat to make the journey, cruise company Fred Olsen said.
The Corinth Canal is a tidal waterway connecting the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf, dividing the Pelopónnisos from mainland Greece.
Ships have been navigating through the narrow waterways since 1893, but on Wednesday, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines claimed to have captained the longest cruise ship through the canal. The ship weighs 24,344 gross tons and is 195.82 meters long.
"Today Braemar made history as the longest-ever ship to cruise through the CorinthCanal," Fred Olsen Cruise Line said on social media.
At 3.9 miles long, the Corinth Canal shortens the sea route from Italian ports to the port of Athens.