Have you ever wondered how container ship captains practice navigating through tricky waterways like the Suez Canal? 

One option is this lake in the foothills of the French Alps, known as Port Revel. 

It's a miniature replica of some of the most difficult passageways and ports on the seven seas, with a fleet of canal boats transformed to replicate the vessels loaded with containers or filled with freight. 

From the San Francisco Bay and the Alcatraz prison island to Port McArthur in the Gulf of Mexico, and, of course the Suez Canal, some of the world's trickiest waterways are replicated in 1/25th scale.

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"The depth, the banks, the shape of the canal, are exactly those of the actual canal, before the 2015 expansion. That is in order to put trainees in very realistic conditions," managing director Francois Mayor explained. 

The lake also uses wind and wave machines to replicate difficult conditions that make negotiating the narrow canal even tougher. 

But one of Port Revel's training instructors suggested more practical assistance for ships and their captains should be given by the Canal Authority. 

"Inevitably, there will be conclusions drawn from that event. So, maybe – I say that in a very careful way – but maybe will they systematize the escorting of a ship in Suez by a tugboat placed behind it to better control the ship while it drifts?" Philippe Boulanger told Reuters. 

But before any changes to the canal itself, or the process of passing it are made, Port Revel has reported increased interest in its Suez practice program, according to Mayor. He suggested it would be much cheaper for firms to pay for a day of training, than to extract a ship that gets stuck in the canal.

The only problem with replicating the Sinai Desert in France? 

"It's a bit hard to recreate sandstorms," Mayor revealed.