BBC photo from Saturday's event at the Suez Canal.

BBC photo from Saturday’s event at the Suez Canal.

The first trial operation of the new Suez Canal started Saturday morning, with six large ships crossing in both directions, Youm7 reported.

The trial operation aims to assure that the canal allows ships with different sizes and drafts to sail.

The executive agency that manages the new Suez Canal project announced that dredgers have lifted more than 259 million cubic meters of water-saturated sand.

The project was launched in August 2014 and is scheduled to be inaugurated in August 6, 2015.

More at the Cairo Post