Overland marches killed so many slaves that Mehmed Ali shifted to Nile boat transport

Evidence

The same problem was encountered when the slaves arrived in Egypt: a large number of them perished on the long march from Aswan to Cairo. Mehmed Ali soon ordered that they be transported by Nile boats, and orders were issued to build forty such vessels every month. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 442

Categorization

• QUESTION: Were these Nile boats a direct antecedent of the modern Egyptian river navy that later carried troops in the Greek campaign?