Panama Canal

Some consider the Panama Canal (Canal de Panamá), which opened August 15, 1914, the “Eighth Wonder of the World”, matching its merit with ancient world construction marvels such as the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. This remarkably self-sufficient lock type canal—one of the greatest feats of engineering in history—unites the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. Gravity is the only force necessary to adjust the water level in the locks. There are no pumps or other such manmade devices. The locks take but eight minutes to fill with 101,000 cubic metres of freshwater from Lake Gatún (Lago Gatún). The water passes through culverts large enough to accommodate a train to raise vessels 26 metres (85 feet) above sea level, the level of Lake Gatún . The dam at Gatún generates all the electricity necessary to operate motors and guiding/towing locomotives. At one time, this artificial lake was the largest in the world.

The Canal has three sets of two-lane locks: the Gatún, which is on the Atlantic side, and Pedro Miguel and the Miraflores on the Pacific side. More than 1.5 kilometres long, Gatún raises ships 26 metres (85 feet) with its parallel sets of locks that have three flights. The Pedro Miguel and the Miraflores locks work together to raise or lower ships the same amount. The Pedro Miguel, with one flight, is the smallest set of locks along the Panama Canal . The Miraflores has two flights. The locks, at 305 by 33.5 metres, are massive structures—each made with 3,440,488 cubic metres of concrete.

An important tourist destination, visitors to Panama get a close up look at ships moving through the locks at the Gatún and the Miraflores observation facilities where bilingual commentaries are offered. The locks have 46 pairs of miter gates of varying height which are 65 feet wide and seven feet thick and weigh between 353.8 and 662.2 tons. The Miraflores gates are the tallest at 25 metres as they contend with the extreme fluctuations of the Pacific tide. They weigh 730 tons. About 40 pairs date back to Canal construction days. Other structures and buildings, such as the Administration Building and the Governor’s House, also date back the colonial past.

There is plenty of international interest in the Panama Canal . People the world over view ships moving through the locks with the aid of Panama ’s web cameras (http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html ).

This convenient and successful passage is one of the most traveled waterways in the world. More than 14,000 a year take the approximately nine-hour journey, tallying more than 922,000 vessels since its opening. The waterway transverses the Isthmus of Panama about 82 kilometres (51 miles) and saves ships the 12,500-kilometre trip (7,800 miles) around the tip of South America. Ships with a 294.13 metres maximum length, 12.04 metre maximum draft, and 32.31 metre maximum beam can cross. Currently, 68 percent of the Canal traffic is either destined for the U.S. or originating from the U.S. Four percent of world trade and 16 percent of U.S borne trade is transported on the Canal. The principal trade routes that take advantage of the Canal are:

• U.S. East Coast – Asia
• Europe – West Coast South America
• U.S. East Coast – West Coast South America
• U.S. East Coast – U.S. West Coast
• U.S. East Coast – West Coast of Central America
• East Coast of South America – West Coast of South America
• Europe – U.S. West Coast and Canada
• Around the World

A $5.25-billion upgrade of the canal has been proposed to handle today’s megaships and increased traffic. The third shipping lane with its own set of locks is scheduled for completion in 2014 and will double the capacity of the locks. Canal expansion will also drive port expansion, Panama Canal Authority (ACP) studies show. (The ACP [Authoridad del Canal de Panama] is the organization in charge of the administration of Panama Canal.) Columbia, consequently, has decided to invest more than $156 million over the next ten years in port improvements. Ongoing modernization and maintenance programs for the Canal include plans to build new reservoirs, continue widening the Gaillard Cut ( Culebra Cut ) as well as upgrades and improvements on all machinery, among other important projects. Continued growth and improvement will make Panama the number one Latin American container transhipment center in the years to come.