Breathtaking moment huge cruise ship squeezes through canal with just inches to spare

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By stefan armitage

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Social media users have been left thoroughly impressed after a giant cruise ship managed to squeeze through a canal with only "inches to spare".

Now, anybody who has ever seen me parallel park will know that I simply wouldn't be capable of this mind-blowing feat.

Fortunately, I'm not the remarkable cruise captain who managed to navigate a 24,000-tonne ship down the Corinth Canal in Greece.

Check out this incredible POV footage of this seemingly impossible feat:

The moment occurred back in 2019 when guests aboard a Fred Olsen cruise liner were treated to one of the most unique sights anyone will ever see on a cruise - dry land just feet away.

The cruise company boasts itself of getting passengers "closer to the world’s most remote and picturesque destinations" - and those traveling on the MS Braemar ship flocked to the open decks to watch the 22.25-meter-wide cruise liner sail through the Corinth Canal - which is just 24 meters wide at its narrowest point.

Per the Metro, there were moments when the passengers on board were actually able to reach over and touch the sides of the canal!

In an effort the make the sailing go as smoothly as possible, the MS Braemar was assisted by a tugboat (seen in the video), in order to avoid bumps while carrying the 1,200+ passengers and crew.

The four-mile-long canal, built in 1893, separates the Greek mainland from the Peloponnese, and saves ships a 430-mile journey around the peninsula. However, due to the fact it is now too narrow for modern ocean freighters, it has become quite the hotspot for tourist vessels.

People soon flocked to social media to share their amazement at the sight, with one person writing on Instagram: "Just fantastic. Congratulations to Captain & his crew."

Another added: "Wowsers! We went along there in a much smaller boat, glad we didn’t meet you coming the other way".

And over on Reddit, one person quipped: "I’m guessing that’s not where the captain of the Ever Given got trained" - a reference to the infamous container ship that run aground in the Suez Canal.

Per an official press release, Clare Ward, of operator Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, said of the achievement: "This is such an exciting sailing and tremendous milestone in Fred Olsen’s 171-year history, and we are thrilled to have been able to share it with our guests."

If you're ever fortunate enough to be able to experience this incredible sight, just take a moment and be thankful that I'm not the one driving.

Featured image credit: Jean-Pierre BOUCHARD / Getty