From 1967 to 1975, fifteen ships and their crews were trapped in the Suez Canal after the Six-Day War between Israel and Egypt. The stranded ships, which belonged to eight countries, were nicknamed the Yellow Fleet after the desert sand that coated them.

The Great Bitter Lake is a large saltwater lake in Egypt which is part of the Suez Canal. Before the canal was built in 1869, the Great Bitter Lake was a dry salt valley or basin. References are made to the Great Bitter Lake in the ancient Pyramid Texts.