I feel like the economic benefits of not detonating a little over a gigaton of nuclear explosives in your country outweighs the benefits of having a (highly irradiated) competitor to the Suez Canal. Would you even be able to move food through this proposed canal safely?
For food, the lingering radiation might even be considered a feature not a bug.
Irradiation of food is a useful method of preservation which extends safety and shelf life and does not make foods radioactive or noticeably change the taste texture or appearance... [0][1]
Whether the lingering radiation would create a sufficient dose, and sufficiently consistent and accurate, for the desired preservative effect is another question. But, it might be an advantage that could plausibly support an upcharge for transport of foods (tho perhaps require lead-lined crew quarters), or a preferred route vs non-irradiating Suez canal?
I have no idea if the scale of radiation is anywhere close enough for this to be anything but a joke of a sidetrack, but I don't think the food transport would be harmed... the crew, another story.
I’m curious how these clean bombs differ from neutron bombs (which I thought had a point of minimizing leftovers by using everything up in the neutron blast)?
