Humanity is trying in every possible way to reshape the Earth for itself, and in the most literal sense. It does this in order to make its life as easy as possible. Connect two oceans and separate two continents? If it brings benefits, then “no question.”
No sooner said than done. This is how the famous Panama Canal appeared, connecting two oceans and separating two continents.
Naturally, it did not appear by chance magic wand, and not in a couple of days. How, when and why it was built, read on (keep in mind there is a lot of information, but it is really interesting).
The Panama Canal is a water bridge between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is located at the narrowest part of the Isthmus of Panama in Central America.
Panama Canal on the map
- Geographic coordinates of the central part (9.117934, -79.786942)
- The distance from the capital of Panama city... Panama is approximately 6 km. In fact, the Panama Canal is located in the southwestern part of the capital
- The nearest airport is Panama Pacifico (originally Aeropuerto Internacional Panama Pacifico) 5 kilometers southwest of the Pacific entrance to the canal
By connecting the oceans, the Panama Canal thereby separated two continents, North and South America. But let us note the extreme importance and benefit of this colossal structure for the entire world economy. The main purpose of the Panama Canal is to shorten intercontinental shipping routes.
General description of the design features of the channel
The canal uses a lock system with entry and exit gates. The locks function as water elevators: they lift ships from sea level (Pacific or Atlantic) to the level of Lake Gatun (26 meters above sea level). Then the ships pass along the Continental Divide and at the exit descend to ocean level, again using a lock.
Each lock bears the name of the city in which it was built: Gatun (on the Atlantic side) and Pedro Miguel and Miraflores (on the Pacific side).
Panamanian the channel is on from the southeast, from the side of Limon Bay, which is part of the Caribbean Sea and, accordingly, the Atlantic Ocean, through the Gatun lock to the northwest to the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks and out into the Pacific Ocean.
The water used to raise and lower the ships at each lock comes from Lake Gatun under the influence of gravity. It enters the locks through a system of culverts that pass under the lock chambers from the side and central walls.
Lake Gatun is an artificial lake with an area of 430 square kilometers, formed as a result of the construction of the Gatun Dam. At one time it was the largest artificial reservoir in the world.
The narrowest part of the Panama Canal, the Culebra Cut, extends from the northern part of the Pedro Miguel Lock to the southern edge of Lake Gatun in Gamboa. This section of the path is approximately 13.7 kilometers long and is carved into the rocks and shale of the continental part of the Isthmus of Panama.
All channel gateways are double (one might say double-sided). Therefore, oncoming traffic of ships is possible along the canal, but, as a rule, both lock chambers allow ships to pass in the same direction. For the passage of ships, special railway tractors are used, which are nicknamed “mules”, by analogy with the animals that used to pull ships along rivers.
The standard transit time for a ship through the Panama Canal is usually 8-10 hours, but in case of emergency, the time can be significantly reduced. The fastest transit through the canal was made by the US Navy ship Pegasus, which transited the canal from Miraflores Lock to Gatun Lock in 2 hours 41 minutes in June 1979.
Ships from all over the world pass through the Panama Canal every day. Every year the canal is used by 13 to 18 thousand ships. The Panama Canal serves 144 shipping routes connecting 160 countries and approximately 1,700 ports in the world.
The canal operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing unconditional transit to ships from all countries of the world. At the end of 2010, the Panama Canal was closed to ships due to heavy rainfall and rising water levels. This is the first time such an event has occurred in 95 years.
About 10,000 people work in all services of the Panama Canal.
Some more numbers from the Panama Canal
The length of the Panama Canal is 77.1 kilometers. But the total length of the path from the deep waters of the Atlantic to the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean is 80 kilometers. Therefore, its length is often indicated plus/minus a couple of kilometers.
The total width in the area of the locks reaches 150 meters (meaning the width of the structural artificial part, excluding the width of artificial lakes).
The original Panama Canal
Initially, the channel parameters were as follows.
Dimensions of the locks: width 33.53 meters, length 304.8 meters. Depth 12.5 meters. The volume of water in the lock chamber is approximately 101,000 cubic meters.
The maximum size of a ship capable of crossing the Panama Canal was 32.3 meters wide and 294.1 meters long. The draft was no more than 12 meters and the height from the waterline to the highest point of the ship should not exceed 62.5 meters.
It is noteworthy that these dimensions became one of the shipbuilding standards, named “Panamax” (in the original Panamax) in honor of the canal.
Since progress does not stand still, and the volume of trade is increasing, at the end of 2006 a decision was made to expand the channel. Moreover, this decision was made by the people of the country in a referendum, where about 80% of the population was in favor of expansion. And again it took 9 whole years to complete the work. The work was carried out, and in 2016 throughput the canal increased to 18,800 ships per year.
Modernizing the canal will increase cash receipts to the country's budget from 2.5 to 4.3 billion dollars.
What was included in the project?
The main feature of the modern Panama Canal is the increase in capacity and the ability to accommodate ships of even greater capacity. Shipyards already use the terms New Panamax or Post Panamax (in the original, New Panamax and Post Panamax, respectively), denoting a type of ship approximately one and a half times larger than the Panamax standard.
The airlock chambers have been significantly enlarged. They are now 427 meters (1,400 ft) long and 55 meters (180 ft) wide and 18.3 meters (60 ft) deep. They accommodate vessels up to 49 meters (160 ft) wide and up to 366 meters (1,200 ft) long with a maximum draft of 15 meters (50 ft) or carrying cargo up to 170,000 DWT and 12,000 TEU.
DWT is the total weight of the ship (measured in tons), including cargo, fuel and all ship stores.
TEU is the standard volume of a 20-foot sea container.
The design of the new locks includes the use of reinforced steel, which was not used in the construction of the previous Panama Canal. The construction of the new lock complexes required a total of 4.4 million cubic meters of concrete.
The gates used on the modern Panama Canal were built by subcontractor Cimolai SpA in Italy at seven different factories in northeastern Italy. The gates have different sizes depending on their location in the airlock chamber. All of them are 57.6 meters long, 8-10 meters wide, and the height depends on the location, ranging from 22.3 to 33.04 meters. Weight ranges from 2100 to 4200 tons.
They cost $547.7 million, including delivery. The total cost of the canal expansion work is estimated at $5.25 billion.
The first ceremonial passage of the Chinese super-container ship COSCO SHIPPING through the updated channel took place on June 26, 2016. This date is considered the actual commissioning of the modern Panama Canal.
COSCO SHIPPING PANAMA is the first ship to pass through the updated Panama Canal COSCO SHIPPING has a length of 300 meters and a width of 48 meters. The total tonnage is 93,702 tons.
But the photo below shows the 2000th passage through the canal of the New Panamax class vessel Cosco Yantian.
The vessel has a length of 351 meters and a beam of 43 meters, with a total TEU of 9,504.
Cosco Yantian - 2000th New Panamax class ship passing through the canal And this is the container ship Theodore Roosevelt, 365.9 meters long and 48.2 meters wide.
Theodore Roosevelt in the Panama Canal The first cruise ship to sail through the renovated Panama Canal is called the Disney Wonder.
Disney Wonder is the first cruise ship in the renovated Panama Canal History of the Panama Canal
In 1513, Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa became the first European to discover that the Isthmus of Panama is the narrowest point separating the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. But then there was no trace of the idea of a channel.
The first mention of a passage through the Isthmus of Panama dates back to 1534, when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, ordered the shortest route to be found between Spain and Peru. This route would have given the Spanish a military advantage over the Portuguese. Naturally, in those days there was neither knowledge nor technology for such construction. Therefore, the idea remained an idea.
During an expedition from 1788 to 1793, Italian explorer Alessandro Malaspina was already developing plans for a canal. But it didn’t get to the point of construction.
The first attempt at real construction was made by the French in 1879. Such famous people as Ferdinand de Lesseps (under his leadership the equally famous Suez Canal was built) and Alexander Gustave Eiffel (he created the modern symbol of Paris in particular and France in general) took part in the development.
The Panama Canal, like the Suez Canal, was planned to be built at sea level. That is, the gateway system was not considered at all. This, and a number of other factors, ultimately led to the failure of the entire project.
So, we managed to extract money from the French government, and work even began. But a little later it turned out that only a third of the money was actually spent on construction. The rest went to bribes or were stolen. Malaria and fever killed workers en masse. According to some data, approximately 22,000 (!!!) people died from diseases (mostly) and accidents.
As a result of a series of financial scandals, the construction company went bankrupt. Lesseps himself and Eiffel were accused of fraud and embezzlement. Ferdinand Lesseps, unable to withstand pressure from all sides, died in 1894 without completing the construction of his second great canal. The work was frozen. The scandals surrounding the Panama Canal were so large that at that time the word “Panama” became synonymous with large-scale corruption and fraud.
At the same time, the United States was considering the possibility of building an interoceanic canal through Nicaragua.
For almost the entire 19th century, two canal options were considered, the Nicaraguan and Panama canals. But in the end the decision was made in favor of the latter.
How to appropriate the Panama Canal
The situation developed in such a way that the United States at that time was more interested in the Nicaraguan version of the canal, and formally they did not need the Panama canal.
The French could no longer continue construction. The Panama Canal has become for them the notorious “suitcase without a handle,” and it’s hard to carry and it’s a shame to throw it away.
This is where the United States comes into the big game. They are promoting the idea of the Nicaraguan Canal in every possible way, thereby reducing the value of the Panama Canal. In the end, the Americans buy the rights and virtually everything related to the channel from France for $40 million. According to the current agreement with Colombia, which then owned the state of Panama, all equipment and all work carried out, including the canal, became the property of the country if the canal did not start working before 1904. And, of course, he couldn’t make any money. The only way to take control of the canal was to separate Panama from Colombia. This would suit both France and the USA. France gets the money, the US gets the channel, and Colombia gets the donut hole.
The decision as ancient as the world “divide and conquer” was made. The Americans saw a lack of democracy and oppression of human rights in the state of Panama (at that time still belonging to Colombia). The US fleet immediately arrived in the coastal waters, and crowds of civic activists took to the streets of Panamanian cities, who suddenly suddenly wanted freedom and lace pantaloons.
Wow! On November 4, 1903, a new “independent” state appeared on the world map, which was directly called the “Independent Republic of Panama.” Just 2 weeks later, Panama “independently” signs an agreement with the United States, according to which virtually all rights to the canal and adjacent territories are transferred to the Americans.
Construction continued under the leadership of the American Department of Defense, and Panama de facto became a protectorate of the United States. By the way, disputes on this issue with Colombia were resolved only by 1921.
Completion of the Panama Canal
It must be said that the Americans approached the issue of building the canal with their characteristic enthusiasm and pragmatism. To begin with, they secured the surrounding area as much as possible, cut down and burned more than 30 km2 of thickets, drained about a hundred hectares of swamps, and dug approximately 80 kilometers of drainage ditches. The icing on the cake was the spraying of about 600 thousand liters of special liquids that killed mosquitoes, mosquitoes and their larvae in the places of their greatest accumulation and reproduction. As a result of these actions, malaria and fever subsided, and construction work resumed in 1904.
The idea of a lock-free canal was abandoned and they decided to use a system of artificial lakes and locks. That is why it was possible to significantly reduce the excavation work and speed up the entire construction process. The work lasted for 9 years. The final stage was the ceremonial undermining of the last barrier in the area of the city of Gamboa. On October 10, 1913, Thomas Woodrow Wilson (then President of the United States) carried out this explosion using a telegraph directly from Washington, pressing a symbolic button in the presence of members of the government. The construction of the canal has officially been completed.
The first ship, the Cristobal, passed through the Panama Canal on August 3, 1914. The canal was officially opened on August 15, 1914, with the passage of the ship SS Ancon.
Unfortunately, during the construction of the canal by the Americans, casualties could not be avoided. For various reasons, 5,609 people died.
Who owns the Panama Canal
As you already know, Panama has transferred all powers over the canal to the United States. To strengthen the canal's defenses, the United States even purchased several nearby islands from Nicaragua, Denmark and Colombia.
But later, various tensions began to arise regarding the channel between the Panamanian and US authorities. There were even recorded uprisings in this small country demanding control of the canal be given to Panama. Despite the fact that many politicians in the United States were against it, on September 7, 1977, in the capital of the United States, the leaders of the two countries entered into an agreement to transfer control of the canal to the government of Panama starting in 2000. This decision was ratified by the American Congress, and now the Panama Canal belongs to the country in which it was built.
Cost of passage through the channel
Naturally, a fee is charged for the passage of a vessel through the Panama Canal, which depends on the size of the ship, its cargo, displacement and a number of other factors.
The rate for transporting cargo by large container ships is $49 per 1 TEU. Plus, there is a bet on the passage of the ship itself.
Payment for passage also depends on the length of the vessel and starts from $500. This is for vessels up to 50 feet (just over 15 meters) in length. Vessels up to 100 feet in length (approximately 30.5 meters) are available for $2,000. For ships over 100 feet in length, rates start at $2,500.
There is also a rate for each ton of ship displacement. It starts at $2.95 and goes down slightly for larger ships.
We will not describe in detail all the prices for the passage of ships from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, since it depends on many factors. In addition, all cost information is available on the official website of the Panama Canal https://www.pancanal.com. Let's just say that sometimes the amount reaches $500,000 for one huge container ship.
The record holder for the cheapest passage on the canal was Richard Halliburton in 1928. It only cost him 36 cents.
Today, the Panama Canal is not only a valuable interoceanic corridor and an engineering marvel, but also a popular tourist attraction. In the cities adjacent to the locks there are museums dedicated to the history of the canal and observation decks from which you can watch its titanic work.
- Over its lifetime, the Panama Canal has helped reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 650 million tons. The canal expansion will reduce emissions by another 160 million tons over the next 10 years. This occurs due to the reduction in the length of sea routes, and, accordingly, the negative impact of sea vessels on the environment
- American spending from 1904 to 1914 amounted to US$375,000,000. This is the largest amount spent by the United States government on any project to date. Total expenditures by France and America amounted to US$639,000,000
- During construction, more than 130 million cubic meters of soil were excavated (23 million of them were dug by the French at the very beginning)
- It is estimated that more than 80,000 people were involved in construction, with many of the workers coming from India. About 28,000 people died during the work
- The Panama Canal was visited by many film and television stars. In particular Aerosmith, Usher and Sean Connery
- On September 4, 2010, Fortune Plum became the millionth ship to pass through the Panama Canal.
- The canal shortened the sea route from New York to Los Angeles by almost 2.5 times, from 22,000 to 9,000 km
- In the summer of 2014, the final route of the Nicaraguan Canal was developed, which should become a competitor to the Panama Canal, but construction is still only in the draft
The construction of the Panama Canal was one of the most important milestones in navigation. Commissioned in 1920 (the first ship passed through it in 1914, but due to a landslide in the fall of that year, official traffic was opened only six years later), the canal shortened the distance between the ports of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans several times - previously, To get from one ocean to another, ships had to go around South America all the way around Cape Horn. Today, the Panama Canal is one of the world's main shipping routes, through which about 18 thousand ships pass annually (the current canal capacity is 48 ships per day), which constitutes a significant part of the world's cargo turnover. The history of the Panama Canal dates back to the 16th century, when the Spaniard Vasco Nunez de Balboa was the first to cross the Isthmus of Panama and reach the Pacific coast - so it was discovered that the territory of modern Panama is only a narrow strip of land between the oceans. In 1539, the Spanish king sent an exploration expedition to study the possibility of building a waterway across the Isthmus of Panama, but the expedition reported to the king that this idea was not feasible. 
The first real attempt to build the Panama Canal was made by the French in 1879 under the leadership of Ferdinand de Lesseps, a diplomat and project leader. Suez Canal , which was opened shortly before, in 1869. But building the Panama Canal was a much more difficult task. In 1889, the French project went bankrupt - the challenge posed by the Panamanian jungle with its tropical rains, impenetrable swamps and at the same time rocky soils, floods and, worst of all, deadly epidemics of malaria, yellow fever, plague, typhus and other diseases was too difficult , which claimed the lives of about 20 thousand people in the first campaign. Then the States took up the construction of the Panama Canal. The United States was interested in shortening the waterway from the ports of California to its Atlantic coast, and most importantly, the Panama Canal had enormous military significance - it made it possible to almost instantly transfer a fleet from one ocean basin to another, which significantly increased the power and global influence of the United States. In 1903, the United States bought the Panama project from the French, ensured Panama's independence from Colombia, which did not want to provide the Americans with the canal zone for essentially indefinite use, and then signed a formal agreement with the new Panamanian government (which was again represented by the Frenchman Philippe-Jean Bunod -Varilla, who was one of the main participants in the bankrupt first project). The treaty gave the United States a 5-kilometer zone on each side of the canal for indefinite use (that is, essentially forever) and the exclusive right to occupy territories outside this zone as part of any measures to protect the waterway. Thus, the declaration of the canal as neutral and the guarantee of free passage through the canal for military and merchant vessels of all nations, both in time of peace and in war, was destroyed by the American stipulation that these regulations would not apply to such measures as the United States deemed necessary to take for the defense of Panama and maintaining order in the channel. In fact, in a war in which the United States participated, its military fortifications would inevitably deprive the other belligerent of the opportunity to use the canal on an equal footing. John Frank Stevens became the chief engineer of the Panama Canal. Taking into account the mistakes of the French, the Americans first of all took enormous measures to disinfect the construction area and prevent tropical diseases. The project was also changed - according to the French project, the Panama Canal, like the Suez Canal, was supposed to be built at the same level with the oceans, without locks. This required a colossal amount of excavation work on the watershed section of the route. American engineers changed the project and proposed a lock canal with three stages of locks on each side and a watershed section at an altitude of 26 meters above ocean level. The Gatun Reservoir was created on the watershed, into which ships from the Atlantic side were raised in the Gatun locks, and from the Pacific side - in the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks. The Panama Canal opened in 1920 and remained under US control for many years. There were dozens of American military bases in the canal zone, and about 50 thousand military and civilian specialists worked. Over time, dissatisfaction regarding this began to grow more and more in Panama, and in 1977 an agreement was signed on the gradual transfer of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama. In reality, this process took more than two decades, and the canal zone finally came into the possession of Panama on December 31, 1999. The length of the canal is 81.6 kilometers, of which 65.2 kilometers are actually on land and another 16.4 approach kilometers along the bottom of the Panama and Limon bays to deep water. Vessels large enough to pass through the Panama Canal are called Panamax vessels. This standard was the main one for seagoing vessels until the beginning of the 1990s, when active construction of Post-Panamax class vessels (mainly tankers), whose dimensions were larger than the dimensions of the Panama Canal locks, began. Today, the cost of one trip through the Panama Canal depends on the type and size of the vessel and ranges from $800 for a small yacht to $500,000 for the largest vessels. There were also funny cases - for example, in 1928, the famous American traveler Richard Halliburton, who sailed through the canal from one ocean to another, was charged 36 cents. The Panama Canal today is not only one of the world's most important transport connections, but also the main tourist attraction of Panama. The Panama Canal now operates a large tourist center at the Miraflores locks, where from several special observation platforms you can see the locks and the ships passing through them, while the loudspeaker tells about each ship, its route and what it is carrying. There are other tours - by bus along the canal, by rail, walks on small boats; Some standard Caribbean cruises take cruise ships through the Gatun Locks up the Atlantic side of the canal to the watershed and then back out into the Caribbean Sea (and tourists can sail the rest of the Panama Canal on excursions). But by far the best, most unique and enthusiastic way to see the Panama Canal is to transit it entirely on a cruise ship, cross it from the Atlantic to the Pacific (or vice versa) and continue the cruise further in a completely different ocean basin. Absolutely everyone, even the most experienced travelers, prepare for the passage of the Panama Canal in a completely special way. The actual passage of the Panama Canal takes on average about 9 hours, not counting the waiting time for ships at huge sea roads on each side. The cruise ship, naturally, is strictly on schedule and heads into the canal immediately, out of turn. The Zaandam approaches the Panama Canal Zone at approximately 5 am. The entrance to the spacious approach area of the Panama Canal from the Caribbean Sea is marked by powerful lighthouses and protected by many kilometers of dams. At the entrance to the canal in the roadstead, dozens of ships of all sizes and colors stand waiting for their turn, brightly lit in the night. And on the shore of the bay there is the city and port of Colon, with a huge container terminal. The same container terminal is located at the other entrance to the canal - thus, container ships of the “Post-Panamax” class (that is, larger than the locks of the Panama Canal) are unloaded at these entrance ports, containers with cargo are transported along the railway running along the canal, and then on the other side they board new ships and continue the route. Also Railway between ports it is also used for partial unloading of large container ships passing through the canal to reduce their draft. It’s five in the morning, it’s just starting to get light, but most tourists are already on their feet: entering the Panama Canal is one of the central events of the cruise! We enter the approaching water area, from the board in the pre-dawn twilight the lights of the Colon port are visible. 
Having taken on board a group of pilots, we head to the entrance - from the Caribbean Sea, the Panama Canal begins with a three-stage staircase of Gatun locks, in which ships rise from the level of the Atlantic Ocean to the watershed section of the canal. 
To the left of the existing two-line locks, starting in 2007, an additional third line of Panama Canal locks has been built. 
They will be significantly larger than the existing ones and will increase the maximum size and draft of ships that can sail through the canal. If the current locks have dimensions of 304.8 x 33.5 and a depth of 12.8 meters, then the new ones are respectively 427 x 55 x 18.3. In addition to the construction of the second stage of locks, the fairway is currently being expanded and deepened at the Culebra watershed, so that two-way traffic of vessels along the entire length of the canal becomes possible (currently, traffic and locking on the Panama Canal is essentially one-way - first a group of ships goes in one direction, then in the opposite direction, and the ships diverge on wider lake sections of the route). After the completion of this large-scale reconstruction, the capacity of the Panama Canal will double. Old and new locks of the Panama Canal 
Longitudinal profile of the Panama Canal 
Route plan 
At 6-30 am we approach the Gatun locks. The movement of ships along one of the most important transport links in the world goes on continuously, from the bow of the Zaandam we can clearly see four ships ascending the lock stairs in front of us, two in each line. 
On the bank of the canal there are huge gates for the second stage of locks under construction - they were made in Italy and were delivered to the canal recently, at the end of August 2013. 
We approach the first gateway. Clumsy sea vessels are moved from chamber to chamber with the help of special locomotives, to which mooring lines are attached and tensioned. Locomotives with stretched mooring lines attached to them accompany the vessel on four sides (at the bow and stern on each side) - thus, a perfectly clear entry of huge sea vessels into a very small chamber compared to their size is carried out. Mooring lines from the locomotives are supplied to the ship using a boat. 
The mooring lines are secured - let's go! 
We enter the first lock chamber - ships rise from the Caribbean Sea to the watershed area in the three-stage Gatun locks. The total lifting height is 26 meters. Accordingly, just under nine meters per step. But from aboard a huge sea liner, this nine-meter drop is not perceived as significant. 
There is incredible excitement on the decks! 
Since the United States finally withdrew from the Panama Canal in 1999, the unique structure has been maintained entirely independently by Panama. The channel is in good hands! 
The locomotive, starting the ship from the stern on the starboard side, deftly climbs up. Now the gates will close and the locking will begin. 
Having risen in the first, we move to the second chamber. 
One of the Panama Canal webcams is installed in the Gatun locks, which broadcast images on the Internet in real time. At this moment, many of my friends and colleagues are watching us walk through the locks. This is what the Zaandam slowly rising along the Atlantic slope of the Panama Canal looks like from the side. 
Having completed the locking in the third chamber, “Zaandam” rises to the level of the watershed section of the canal. From the stern there is a stunning view of the lock staircase going down and the ships ascending it behind us. Breathtaking! Far below lies the expanse of the Caribbean Sea. And for us - to the Pacific Ocean. Goodbye Atlantic! 
Having risen through the Gatun locks, the ship enters the lake of the same name. Lake Gatun is actually a large reservoir formed on the watershed by a large dam on the Chagres River, which is clearly visible on the right side. 
The canal is fed with water from Lake Gatun. Such canals, in which the reservoir feeding them with water is located in a watershed area, from which water is distributed by gravity to both slopes, are called canals with natural feeding (gravity). In our country these are the Volga-Baltic and White Sea-Baltic canals. On Lake Gatun there is another raid of ships waiting their turn at the locks and waiting for the end of locking of those who come towards them. When the second stage of the Panama Canal is put into operation, traffic along the entire length of the route will become completely two-way. 
The route along the Gatun Reservoir is approximately half the entire length of the Panama Canal. We admire the surrounding landscapes of the equatorial belt from the deck. 
The fairway is not wide and quite winding. The waterway is marked with special buoys. 
At the Gatun Reservoir there is a divergence of ships going in opposite directions. A caravan of ships is coming towards us, having passed the locks of the Pacific slope in the morning and now heading towards the Atlantic slope of the canal. Large tankers, bulk carriers, container ships pass very close by... 
The Zaandam is also viewed with interest from the bridges of oncoming cargo ships. The passage of cruise ships through the Panama Canal is a fairly rare event. 
On the left side you can see the confluence of the Chagres River, which is crossed by a bridge. Gatun Reservoir ends here. Next, the canal route passes through the artificially dug Culebra cut. 
Along the route of the Panama Canal there is a railway along which containers are transported from the Atlantic port to the Pacific port and vice versa. Sometimes tourist trains also run along it. 
We go through the Culebra notch - the narrowest part of the Panama Canal. In some sections, ships navigate the canal accompanied by tugboats. There is a whole special flotilla of them working on the Panama Canal. 
In the place where the Culebra notch crosses a high mountain range, the banks rise steeply in steps, and the cable-stayed Centennial Bridge is already visible in the distance. It was built in 2004 and became the second permanent bridge over the canal. By the way, bridges over the Panama Canal connect two continents - let's not forget that the Panama Canal not only connects two oceans, but also separates the two Americas. The motto of Panama and the Panama Canal, “A Land Divided – A World United”, I think, is clear without additional translation. Now we have North America on the starboard side, and South America on the left side. 
Rising with stone ledges and reinforced with powerful anchors, the slopes of the excavation in this place are reminiscent of some fantastic Mayan pyramids. In principle, in terms of its grandeur, the Panama Canal is a structure quite comparable to them. The volume of rock excavated during the creation of the Culebra excavation is equal in volume to 63 Cheops pyramids in Egypt. 
The bridge is left behind. 
Soon after the bridge, the watershed section of the canal ends and the descent to the Pacific Ocean begins, which ships also overcome in three 9-meter steps. But the Pacific slope is a little flatter - if on the Atlantic slope all three steps are located in a row in the Gatun locks, then here there are two groups of locks - Pedro Miguel (1 step) and Miraflores (2 steps), separated by a small intermediate pool. So, we go into the Pedro Miguel locks. 
About the same view opens from the captain's bridge. From this angle you can clearly see how narrow the lock chamber is compared to the colossal dimensions of ocean-going ships. Even with locomotives guiding the vessel, the navigators here require pinpoint precision. All ships navigate the canal with a group of local pilots. 
Locomotives move the Emerald Express tanker into the parallel chamber. 
At this time on its decks. 
Having finished sluicing at the Pedro Miguel Locks, the Zaandam emerges into the small Lake Miraflores, like Lake Gatun, formed by the dam. Here we will have to wait a little - along a parallel thread of locks a huge floating crane is being pulled towards us, and for some time the ships go only along one thread. 
We go out into the water area and stop. We'll have to wait half an hour until the ship in front of us locks into two chambers, and it's our turn. 
The ships following us are also waiting - a small traffic jam! 
On the left you can see the dam on the river that formed the Miraflores Reservoir. 
Finally, the lock chambers are cleared and ready to receive our ship. This arrow shows the skippers which of the two lines they need to go to. 
We go into the left chamber, and towards us from the right chamber the tug finally slowly brings out a huge floating crane, the “culprit” of the traffic jam. Now the locking process will go much faster again. 
Near the upper left chamber is the Panama Canal Visitor Center. There are several large open areas, from where anyone can look at the ships passing through the locks. 
There is also a webcam from which our ship can be seen as the largest one on the canal. Separating yourself from the crowd, here you can pose gorgeously for your friends and say hello to the Motherland that doesn’t sleep at midnight! At this moment, from the outside we look like this. 
Having said goodbye to our friends, we disappear from the field of view of the video cameras. Now see you in two weeks at home, but for now the Zaandam is heading to the last chamber of the Miraflores lock, after which it will leave the Panama Canal, enter the Pacific Ocean and continue its cruise along the coast of South America. On observation platforms The Miraflores tourist center is crowded. The passage of a cruise ship through the canal is a significant event and a unique opportunity for many land tourists to capture rare footage. 
Excitement!!! 
The gates of the last chamber of the Miraflores locks are closing - the final locking, and we will again find ourselves at ocean level. 
Before the construction of two permanent bridges on the Panama Canal, this drawbridge operated, through which communication between the two Americas was carried out for 50 years. 
Locomotive driver at work. 
Locking is completed - let's go out! 
The Pacific Slope locks of the Panama Canal remain behind. 
The construction of the second stage of locks is also actively underway on the Pacific slope - the outline of the future new water staircase is already visible here. 
We are heading towards the exit. 
We leave the Pacific container port on the left. 
The exit to the Pacific Ocean is unusually beautiful - we pass under the openwork arch of the Bridge of Americas, opened in 1962. 
On the left is a magnificent panorama of the city of Panama, the capital of the state of the same name, surrounded by green hills. 
The pilot boat picks up the pilots accompanying the ship on the Panama Canal, and, giving a good-natured siren as a farewell, returns back. 
There are also many ships at the entrance to the Panama Canal on the Pacific side. 
A fresh wind blows in your face, emerging into the open space “Zaandam” is accompanied by a flock of birds... 
We are in the Pacific Ocean! 
The Panama Canal is an artificially created artery, the role of which is very difficult to overestimate for modern transport system peace. When and under what circumstances was it built? What are its main parameters? The answers to all these questions are contained in our article.
Panama Canal: general characteristics
The canal connects two oceans - the Pacific and the Atlantic. To be more precise: the Gulf of Panama with the Caribbean Sea. It is located within the modern state of Panama, at approximately 9° north latitude and 79° west longitude. These are its geographical coordinates. The Panama Canal went down in history as one of the largest engineering projects in the entire history of mankind and significantly influenced the development of world shipping as a whole.
First of all, the canal reduced the distance by sea between the two largest centers of the United States: New York and San Francisco (almost three times!). Over the entire period of its existence, it has passed over 800 thousand different ships. The Panama Canal has been in operation for almost a century.
Basic channel parameters
Construction of the Panama Canal lasted more than thirty years. And this is not surprising, because to implement such a large-scale project it was necessary to overcome and drill about 70 kilometers on land in the Isthmus of Panama.
The total length of the Panama Canal is 81.6 kilometers. Of these, about 65 kilometers were laid on land. The total width of the canal is about 150 meters. But the artificial locks for the passage of ships and vessels are 33 meters wide. The depth of the canal dividing the two Americas is only 12 meters.
Passage of ships
A variety of vessels use the canal's services: small yachts and large oil tankers. It is curious that the largest ship that is capable of passing through the locks of the Panama Canal soon became a kind of “yardstick”, a standard in shipbuilding. It also received a specific name: “Panamax”.
The passage of ships through the canal is controlled by a special service. On average, one ship overcomes it in nine hours. The Panama Canal can handle up to 50 ships per day. About 200 million tons of various cargo are transported here annually. Now you can easily imagine how significant and important the opening of the Panama Canal was 100 years ago.
How much do you need to pay to use this water transport corridor? The rate depends on the length (if we are talking about small ships or yachts), or on the load (capacity) of the vessel. It is calculated in standard units of measurement - the so-called TEU (this is one container weighing 20 feet). The current rate for one TEU is 49 US dollars.
Configuration and main technical features
Direction of the Panama Canal: from southeast to northwest. Its general structure is represented by two artificial reservoirs and two groups of locks. Also, during the construction of the canal, the beds of local rivers were deepened. All the locks here are double-sided, which allows for safe oncoming traffic of vessels.
The length of the Panama Canal, which falls on the bays (Panamanskaya and Limonskaya), is only 16 kilometers. Large ships are navigated through it using powerful electric locomotives (previously this role was performed by ordinary mules).
The banks of the Panama Canal are connected by three bridges, and along it there is a railway line and a highway.
How and when did the channel appear?
It took almost a quarter of a century to implement this grandiose project. Ideas to connect the two oceans by water crossing began to appear a long time ago, long before its construction began. However technical capabilities for this purpose they appeared only at the end of the 19th century.
The first attempt to create a canal on the Isthmus of Panama belonged to the French and dates back to 1879. But it turned out to be unsuccessful and ended in a complete fiasco for France and numerous scandals. Almost 800 thousand shareholders were ruined, and 20 thousand construction workers died from malaria. The project leaders were convicted of fraud and corruption. By the way, one of the authors of this project, the famous Eiffel, received a prison sentence.
The next attempt to implement the Panama project belongs to the Americans. And they, unlike the French, were able to finish the job. The construction of the canal began in 1902.
The Canal and the Panamanian "separatists"
It is worth noting that the construction of the canal surprisingly coincided with the emergence of such a state as Panama. Previously, this isthmus was owned by Colombia, and it was with the president of this country that the United States entered into an agreement to lease a large plot of land for construction work. But it was not there! The Colombian Parliament refused to ratify this agreement. And after that, very interesting events began to happen.
Just in the state of Panama, where the construction of the canal was supposed to take place, a group of local separatists - fighters for the freedom of the region - suddenly arose. Colombia immediately tried to suppress these movements, but the Panamanian “rebels” were immediately supported by the US Navy. The Colombian government was forced to retreat: in November 1903, Panama declared itself an independent republic. And soon after this, the newly-minted government leadership signed an agreement with the United States on the transfer of land for lease and indefinite use of the canal. In exchange, the superpower promised to protect the sovereignty of young Panama.
How was the canal built?
In fairness, it is worth noting that the Americans approached this matter much more seriously than the French. Thus, the main enemy of the canal laying was malaria. The Americans very quickly solved this problem: they drained the swamps, created a system of ditches to drain water, and treated the area with mosquito repellent chemicals.
It is worth citing a few dry but impressive statistics. Work on laying the Panama Canal lasted 10 years. Over 70 thousand people took part in them. The total cost of the project was $400 million.
The opening of the Panama Canal was solemn and extremely pompous. Woodrow Wilson (US President), while in the White House, pressed the button and blew up the last jumper of the future channel. And the waters of the two oceans united! By the way, to implement this majestic act, a 4,000-kilometer cable was specially laid from Washington to Panama.
It is believed that the year the Panama Canal opened was 1914. On August 15 of this year, the first ship, the Christobel, passed through it. However, that same fall, a major landslide occurred on the canal, which stopped navigation for some time. Traffic along the Panama Crossing resumed a year later - in 1915, when another grand opening took place.
Bridge of the Americas
It should be noted that the new grand canal not only connected two oceans, but also separated two continents. This problem was immediately felt by the residents of two cities - Colon and Panama, which found themselves cut off from the rest of their republic.
Construction of the so-called Bridge of the Americas began in 1959 and was completed in 1962. It became the first continuous road bridge to connect two continents. Before this, the connection between the two banks of the canal was provided by drawbridges.
Current status and prospects
Despite the fact that the canal was built exactly 100 years ago, it is still in great demand today. It goes without saying that the size and tonnage of modern ships have increased significantly. Therefore, the modern Panama Canal faces a number of potential and serious problems today.
In 2006, a special referendum was held in Panama regarding the future of the canal. And 79% of the country's residents were in favor of its expansion and modernization. Active work started already in 2007. It is planned that in the very near future the width of the access gates will increase from 34 to 55 meters, and the depth - to 15.2 meters. Thus, the Panama Canal will be able to accommodate modern large-capacity oil tankers.
Total cargo turnover should increase to 600 million PEU. According to plans, the new Panama Canal after reconstruction will be able to handle 18.8 thousand ships per year. The total cost of the canal modernization project is a whopping US$5.25 billion.
Alternative to the Panama Canal
It is clear that global shipping volumes are growing. And if in the first half of the twentieth century the Panama Canal coped with its responsibilities perfectly, today it is increasingly faced with new problems. Thus, in recent years, maritime traffic jams from ships that form on both sides of the canal have become more frequent. Sometimes the length of one such jam reaches several dozen large vessels.
Based on this, many are thinking about the need to build a second Panama Canal. Nicaragua, in this regard, is seen as the most suitable option.
The projected canal in Nicaragua is great alternative Panama Canal, many experts think so. And natural conditions contribute to its laying. By the way, the first ideas to cut a passage in this country arose back in the 17th century.
Nicaraguan channel
The leaders of three states (Russia, China and Nicaragua) have already agreed on joint participation in this project. New channel will not only solve the transport problem, but will also deprive the United States of its economic monopoly in this region.
45 billion dollars is the estimated cost of the project. China promised to bear the main financial burden. Russian Federation in turn, undertakes to provide military support for the project. Thus, Russian warships are allowed to remain in the territorial waters of Nicaragua until mid-2015.
It is planned that the width of the Nicaraguan Canal will be from 230 to 530 meters, and the depth - up to 30 meters. The total length of the canal will be 278 kilometers, of which 105 kilometers should pass through the waters of Lake Nicaragua.
Conclusion
The Panama Canal is a magnificent structure, one of the greatest engineering projects in human history. It took 10 long years and millions of dollars to build. Despite its advanced age, the Panama Canal continues to be in great demand. However, new times require new capacities, as a result of which the channel faces a host of new problems. To solve this problem, it was decided to qualitatively modernize the structure. In addition, it also considers alternative options, in particular, the construction of a new canal in Nicaragua.
The Panama Canal, dug more than 100 years ago, has long been in need of modernization. Its capacity left much to be desired: ships sometimes had to wait for their turn for several days. In addition, the century-old locks did not correspond to the dimensions and tonnage of modern ships.
Work to update the channel began in 2007. Over the course of 9 years, the width of the locks was increased from 34 to 55 meters, and the depth - from 12 to 18 meters. As a result of the reconstruction, which cost $5.4 billion, the throughput of the artificial water artery increased from 300 to 600 million tons per year, and most importantly, the canal became adapted for tankers transporting liquefied gas. The maximum displacement of ships increased to 150,000 tons.
Globally
The opening of the Panama Canal 2.0 is a global event. At least, this is how the Panamanian authorities are positioning it - heads of state and government from all over the world are invited to the ceremony. True, only Latin American presidents confirmed their presence: Michelle Bachelet (Chile), Luis Guillermo Solis (Costa Rica), Daniel Medina (Dominican Republic), Juan Orlando Hernandez (Honduras) and Horacio Cartes (Paraguay). Also, 62 delegations from different countries and representatives of international organizations.
Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela also sent an invitation to Vladimir Putin, but this trip was not on the Russian leader’s schedule.
US area of interest
The main beneficiary of the Panama Canal reboot will be the United States. It was they who at one time were most interested in its construction. And in 1902, having bought the assets of the canal from the bankrupt French, they “agreed” with the Panamanian authorities and in 10 years successfully dug a path from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, paying for it approximately $400 million and more than 5.5 thousand lives of workers.
The United States had undivided ownership of the channel until 1999. But after numerous protests against the American presence, it was finally transferred to the control of Panama - the state agency of the Panama Canal Administration. True, in reality, the United States continues to consider the canal, like the entire territory of Panama, a zone of its vital interests. In addition, as Mikhail Belyat, a researcher at the Russian State University for the Humanities and an expert on Latin America, said in an interview with RT, “there is a lot of money from American shareholders in this channel.”
Economic effect
Ahead of the grand opening of the revamped Panama Canal, The Wall Street Journal wrote that expanding the waterway could have huge implications for global trade in the long term. Of course, first of all, American companies will gain an advantage, because through the modernized canal the United States will be able to quickly deliver oil and gas from the Gulf of Mexico to anywhere in the world.
- Reuters
However, there is another opinion. The expansion of the canal was planned at the peak of maritime traffic, but now the situation has changed, so the economic effect of modernizing the canal is not obvious. But optimistic experts predict an increase in maritime cargo traffic by at least 240% by 2030.
Monopoly game
The economic situation is changing, but the US monopoly on the Panama Canal seems to be constant. And this does not suit many people. First of all, China and Venezuela, as one of the main oil exporters in the region. China has already leased two ports at the entrance and exit of the canal, but still cannot feel calm and be completely sure that the transit of its goods will not one day be blocked.
The second disadvantage of the Panama Canal: even in its updated version, it is not wide and deep enough for the latest tankers. And finally, its lack of alternative contradicts the principles of competition.
These factors led to the emergence of the idea of a backup channel.
Nicaraguan understudy
Everything new is well forgotten old. The idea of building a canal on the territory of Nicaragua appeared in the 16th century and belonged to the Spanish king Charles V. In those distant times, they planned to build a canal across Lake Nicaragua and the San Juan River, cutting the 80-kilometer isthmus that separated the lake from the ocean. The Americans initially wanted to implement this same scenario, and the North American Company was even formed to build the Nicaraguan Canal. But in the end, the scales tipped in favor of Panama.
The idea of the Nicaraguan Canal was reborn in the 21st century. The private Hong Kong company HKND Group, led by Chinese billionaire Wang Jin, and the Nicaraguan government have agreed to build a backup canal. The construction of the century began in 2014.
- www.youtube.com
On all counts
According to the project, the Nicaraguan Canal should surpass its Panamanian competitor in all respects: length - 286 kilometers, depth - about 30 meters, width - from 226 to 530 meters, vessel displacement - up to 270,000 tons.
And what is important is that the emergence of the Nicaraguan Canal will significantly reduce prices for transit and port fees on the coast. “According to the existing project, two powerful ports will appear at the entrance and exit of the canal; they will compete with Panama,” Mikhail Belyat, a researcher at the Russian State University for the Humanities and an expert on Latin America, said in an interview with RT. - Accordingly, pricing for the use of the canal and port services along the entire coast will decrease. This does not suit the US."
Proetcontra
The construction of the canal is a matter of vital importance not only for all participants in the project. Nicaragua receives economic and political preferences: the country's GDP will double, and its geopolitical significance will radically change. China, having built the Nicaraguan Canal, comes seriously and for a long time to the American continent, and becomes one of the main players in the region, not to mention the economic benefits - it is no coincidence that Chinese investors are showing great interest in the project. Countries in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America are also interested in the emergence of an alternative route from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. But for the United States, according to Mikhail Belyat, “this will be a geostrategic bomb. China is coming to the American continent. And so its presence there is obvious; in any Latin American country you will find a Chinese trace. But the canal is a huge thorn in the immediate vicinity of the US border.”
Do we need this?
China and Nicaragua cannot fail to realize all the risks arising from their proximity to the disgruntled States. Therefore, they are trying by any means to attract Russia to participate in the project in order to ensure its safety. In 2015, Daniel Ortega took the first step - he signed an agreement with Russia, according to which Russian warships would be able to stay in the territorial waters of Nicaragua. And recently, the first batch of modernized T-72B1 tanks in the amount of 20 units was delivered to Nicaragua. In total, under the contract, the Nicaraguans will receive 50 armored vehicles by the beginning of 2017.
“China needs Russia to take part in this project under any guise,” Oleg Valetsky, a military expert at the Center for Strategic Conjuncture, said in an interview with RT. “The Chinese understand perfectly well that this will be a blow to US interests with all the ensuing consequences.” Moreover, there were already precedents in history. “The United States carried out several interventions in Nicaragua with the aim of building such a canal,” says Mikhail Belyat. “And in the twentieth century they intervened to prevent the canal from being built in Nicaragua, because it was becoming an alternative to the Panama one.”
Whether Russia needs to take part in the construction of the century is a debatable question. A number of experts believe that it is not worth it yet. The economic benefits are dubious, and the geopolitical ones are unpredictable.
Delayed action mine
The start of operation of the Nicaraguan Canal was scheduled for 2019, and full completion of construction - for 2029. However, at first, farmers, concerned about the loss of their lands, stood in the way of the project, and construction was postponed for six months. Then, as usual, environmentalists were outraged, and again there was a delay. Finally, all controversial issues were resolved and the implementation of the project was again postponed until the end of 2016. As an explanation, the HKND Group stated financial difficulties.
But the reasons for the permanent freeze of the Nicaraguan Canal most likely lie in the realm of politics. There are presidential elections in Nicaragua on November 6, and presidential elections in the United States on November 8. And the future fate of the channel largely depends on their results.
“Ortega is running for a third term,” says Mikhail Belyat. - His chances are slim. We will have to withstand the pressure of the US-backed opposition. If a liberal president comes to power, the terms of the Nicaraguan Canal agreement may be revised.”
- Reuters
In turn, Hillary Clinton, according to experts, will not stand on ceremony with Chinese ambitions and will act extremely toughly.
So we will find out very soon whether there will be a Nicaraguan Canal, but for now the maritime powers will have to be content with the updated Panama Canal.
Ilya Oganjanov
The construction of the Panama Canal was one of the most important milestones in navigation. Commissioned in 1920 (the first ship passed through it in 1914, but due to a landslide in the fall of that year, official traffic was opened only six years later), the canal shortened the distance between the ports of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans by several times - previously, To get from one ocean to another, ships had to go around South America all the way around Cape Horn. Today, the Panama Canal is one of the world's main shipping routes, through which about 18 thousand ships pass annually (the current canal capacity is 48 ships per day), which constitutes a significant part of the world's cargo turnover.
The history of the Panama Canal dates back to the 16th century, when the Spaniard Vasco Nunez de Balboa was the first to cross the Isthmus of Panama and reach the Pacific coast - so it was discovered that the territory of modern Panama is only a narrow strip of land between the oceans. In 1539, the Spanish king sent an exploration expedition to study the possibility of building a waterway across the Isthmus of Panama, but the expedition reported to the king that this idea was not feasible.
The first real attempt to build the Panama Canal was made by the French in 1879 under the leadership of Ferdinand de Lesseps, a diplomat and leader of the Suez Canal project, which had opened shortly before, in 1869. But building the Panama Canal was a much more difficult task. In 1889, the French project went bankrupt - the challenge posed by the Panamanian jungle with its tropical rains, impenetrable swamps and at the same time rocky soils, floods and, worst of all, deadly epidemics of malaria, yellow fever, plague, typhus and other diseases was too difficult , which claimed the lives of about 20 thousand people in the first campaign.
Then the States took up the construction of the Panama Canal. The United States was interested in shortening the waterway from the ports of California to its Atlantic coast, and most importantly, the Panama Canal had enormous military significance - it made it possible to almost instantly transfer a fleet from one ocean basin to another, which significantly increased the power and global influence of the United States. In 1903, the United States bought the Panama project from the French, ensured Panama's independence from Colombia, which did not want to provide the Americans with the canal zone for essentially indefinite use, and then signed a formal agreement with the new Panamanian government (which was again represented by the Frenchman Philippe-Jean Bunod -Varilla, who was one of the main participants in the bankrupt first project). The treaty gave the United States a 5-kilometer zone on each side of the canal for indefinite use (that is, essentially forever) and the exclusive right to occupy territories outside this zone as part of any measures to protect the waterway. Thus, the declaration of the canal as neutral and the guarantee of free passage through the canal for military and merchant vessels of all nations, both in time of peace and in war, was destroyed by the American stipulation that these regulations would not apply to such measures as the United States deemed necessary to take for the defense of Panama and maintaining order in the channel. In fact, in a war in which the United States participated, its military fortifications would inevitably deprive the other belligerent of the opportunity to use the canal on an equal footing.
John Frank Stevens became the chief engineer of the Panama Canal. Taking into account the mistakes of the French, the Americans first of all took enormous measures to disinfect the construction area and prevent tropical diseases. The project was also changed - according to the French project, the Panama Canal, like the Suez Canal, was supposed to be built at the same level as the oceans, without locks. This required a colossal amount of excavation work on the watershed section of the route. American engineers changed the project and proposed a lock canal with three stages of locks on each side and a watershed section at an altitude of 26 meters above ocean level. The Gatun Reservoir was created on the watershed, into which ships from the Atlantic side were raised in the Gatun locks, and from the Pacific side - in the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks.
The Panama Canal opened in 1920 and remained under US control for many years. There were dozens of American military bases in the canal zone, and about 50 thousand military and civilian specialists worked. Over time, dissatisfaction regarding this began to grow more and more in Panama, and in 1977 an agreement was signed on the gradual transfer of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama. In reality, this process took more than two decades, and the canal zone finally came into the possession of Panama on December 31, 1999.
The length of the canal is 81.6 kilometers, of which 65.2 kilometers are actually on land and another 16.4 approach kilometers along the bottom of the Panama and Limon bays to deep water. Vessels large enough to pass through the Panama Canal are called Panamax vessels. This standard was the main one for seagoing vessels until the beginning of the 1990s, when active construction of Post-Panamax class vessels (mainly tankers), whose dimensions were larger than the dimensions of the Panama Canal locks, began. Today, the cost of one trip through the Panama Canal depends on the type and size of the vessel and ranges from $800 for a small yacht to $500,000 for the largest vessels. There were also funny cases - for example, in 1928, the famous American traveler Richard Halliburton, who sailed through the canal from one ocean to another, was charged 36 cents. 🙂
The Panama Canal today is not only one of the world's most important transport connections, but also the main tourist attraction of Panama. The Panama Canal now operates a large tourist center at the Miraflores locks, where from several special observation platforms you can see the locks and the ships passing through them, while the loudspeaker tells about each ship, its route and what it is carrying. There are other tours - by bus along the canal, by rail, walks on small boats; Some standard Caribbean cruises take cruise ships through the Gatun Locks up the Atlantic side of the canal to the watershed and then back out into the Caribbean Sea (and tourists can sail the rest of the Panama Canal on excursions). But by far the best, most unique and enthusiastic way to see the Panama Canal is to transit it entirely on a cruise ship, cross it from the Atlantic to the Pacific (or vice versa) and continue the cruise further in a completely different ocean basin. Absolutely everyone, even the most experienced travelers, prepare for the passage of the Panama Canal in a completely special way.
The actual passage of the Panama Canal takes on average about 9 hours, not counting the waiting time for ships at huge sea roads on each side. The cruise ship, naturally, is strictly on schedule and heads into the canal immediately, out of turn. The Zaandam approaches the Panama Canal Zone at approximately 5 am. The entrance to the spacious approach area of the Panama Canal from the Caribbean Sea is marked by powerful lighthouses and protected by many kilometers of dams. At the entrance to the canal in the roadstead, dozens of ships of all sizes and colors stand waiting for their turn, brightly lit in the night. And on the shore of the bay there is the city and port of Colon, with a huge container terminal. The same container terminal is located at the other entrance to the canal - thus, container ships of the “Post-Panamax” class (that is, larger than the locks of the Panama Canal) are unloaded at these entrance ports, containers with cargo are transported along the railway running along the canal, and then on the other side they board new ships and continue the route. The railway between ports is also used to partially unload large container ships passing through the canal to reduce their draft.
1. It’s five in the morning, it’s just starting to get light, but most tourists are already on their feet: entering the Panama Canal is one of the central events of the cruise! We enter the approaching water area, from the board in the pre-dawn twilight the lights of the Colon port are visible.
4. Having taken on board a group of pilots, we head to the entrance - from the Caribbean Sea, the Panama Canal begins with a three-stage staircase of Gatun locks, in which ships rise from the level of the Atlantic Ocean to the watershed section of the canal.
5. To the left of the existing two-line locks, starting in 2007, an additional third line of Panama Canal locks has been built.
They will be significantly larger than the existing ones and will increase the maximum size and draft of ships that can sail through the canal. If the current locks have dimensions of 304.8 x 33.5 and a depth of 12.8 meters, then the new ones are respectively 427 x 55 x 18.3. In addition to the construction of the second stage of locks, the fairway at the Culebra watershed is currently being expanded and deepened, so that two-way traffic of vessels along the entire length of the canal becomes possible (currently, traffic and locking on the Panama Canal is essentially one-way - first a group of ships goes in one direction, then in the opposite direction, and the ships diverge on wider lake sections of the route). After the completion of this large-scale reconstruction, the capacity of the Panama Canal will double.
6. Old and new locks of the Panama Canal
9. Longitudinal profile of the Panama Canal
10. Route plan
11. At 6-30 am we approach the Gatun locks. The movement of ships along one of the most important transport links in the world goes on continuously, from the bow of the Zaandam we can clearly see four ships ascending the lock stairs in front of us, two in each line.
12. On the bank of the canal there are huge gates for the second stage of locks under construction - they were made in Italy and were delivered to the canal recently, at the end of August 2013.
13. We approach the first gateway. Clumsy sea vessels are moved from chamber to chamber with the help of special locomotives, to which mooring lines are attached and tensioned. Locomotives with stretched moorings attached to them accompany the ship on four sides (at the bow and stern on each side) - thus, a perfectly clear entry of huge sea vessels into a very small chamber compared to their size is carried out. Mooring lines from the locomotives are supplied to the ship using a boat.
14. The mooring lines are secured - let's go! 🙂
15. We enter the first lock chamber - ships rise from the Caribbean Sea to the watershed area in the three-stage Gatun locks. The total lifting height is 26 meters. Accordingly, just under nine meters per step. But from aboard a huge sea liner, this nine-meter drop is not perceived as significant.
16. There is incredible excitement on the decks!
17. Since the United States finally withdrew from the Panama Canal in 1999, the unique structure has been maintained and maintained entirely by Panama. The channel is in good hands! 🙂
18. The locomotive, starting the ship from the stern on the starboard side, deftly climbs up. Now the gates will close and the locking will begin.
19. Having risen in the first, we move to the second chamber.
20. One of the Panama Canal webcams is installed in the Gatun locks, which broadcast images on the Internet in real time. At this moment, many of my friends and colleagues are watching us walk through the locks. This is what the Zaandam slowly rising along the Atlantic slope of the Panama Canal looks like from the side. 🙂
21. Having completed the locking in the third chamber, “Zaandam” rises to the level of the watershed section of the canal. From the stern there is a stunning view of the lock staircase going down and the ships ascending it behind us. Breathtaking! Far below lies the expanse of the Caribbean Sea. And for us - to the Pacific Ocean. Goodbye Atlantic! 🙂
24. Having risen through the Gatun locks, the ship enters the lake of the same name. Lake Gatun is actually a large reservoir formed on the watershed by a large dam on the Chagres River, which is clearly visible on the right side.
The canal is fed with water from Lake Gatun. Such canals, in which the reservoir feeding them with water is located in a watershed area, from which water is distributed by gravity to both slopes, are called canals with natural feeding (gravity). In our country these are the Volga-Baltic and White Sea-Baltic canals.
25. On Lake Gatun there is another raid of ships waiting their turn at the locks and waiting for the end of locking of those who are coming towards them. When the second stage of the Panama Canal is put into operation, traffic along the entire length of the route will become completely two-way.
26. The route along the Gatun Reservoir is approximately half the entire length of the Panama Canal. We admire the surrounding landscapes of the equatorial belt from the deck.
29. The fairway is not wide and quite winding. The waterway is marked with special buoys.
30. At the Gatun Reservoir, ships going in opposite directions diverge. A caravan of ships is coming towards us, having passed the locks of the Pacific slope in the morning and now heading towards the Atlantic slope of the canal. Large tankers, bulk carriers, container ships pass very close by...
35. The Zaandam is also viewed with interest from the bridges of oncoming cargo ships. The passage of cruise ships through the Panama Canal is a fairly rare event.
36. On the left side you can see the confluence of the Chagres River, which is crossed by a bridge. Gatun Reservoir ends here. Next, the canal route passes through the artificially dug Culebra cut.
37. A railway runs along the Panama Canal route, along which containers are transported from the Atlantic port to the Pacific port and vice versa. Sometimes tourist trains also run along it.
38. We go through the Culebra notch - the narrowest part of the Panama Canal.
39. In some areas, ships move along the canal accompanied by tugs. There is a whole special flotilla of them working on the Panama Canal.
40. In the place where the Culebra notch crosses a high mountain range, the banks rise steeply in steps, and the cable-stayed Centennial Bridge is already visible in the distance. It was built in 2004 and became the second permanent bridge over the canal. By the way, bridges over the Panama Canal connect two continents - let's not forget that the Panama Canal not only connects two oceans, but also separates the two Americas. The motto of Panama and the Panama Canal, “A Land Divided - A World United”, I think, is clear without additional translation. Now we have North America on the starboard side, and South America on the left side. 🙂
41. Rising with stone ledges and reinforced with powerful anchors, the slopes of the excavation in this place are reminiscent of some fantastic Mayan pyramids. In principle, in terms of its grandeur, the Panama Canal is a structure quite comparable to them. The volume of rock excavated during the creation of the Culebra excavation is equal in volume to 63 Cheops pyramids in Egypt.
42. The bridge is left behind.
43. Soon after the bridge, the watershed section of the canal ends and the descent to the Pacific Ocean begins, which ships also overcome in three 9-meter steps. But the Pacific slope is a little flatter - if on the Atlantic slope all three steps are located in a row in the Gatun locks, then here there are two groups of locks - Pedro Miguel (1 step) and Miraflores (2 steps), separated by a small intermediate pool. So, we go into the Pedro Miguel locks.
44. Approximately the same view opens from the captain's bridge. From this angle you can clearly see how narrow the lock chamber is compared to the colossal dimensions of ocean-going ships. Even with locomotives guiding the vessel, the navigators here require pinpoint precision. All ships navigate the canal with a group of local pilots.
46. Locomotives bring the Emerald Express tanker into the parallel chamber.
47. At this time on its decks.
48. Having finished sluicing in the Pedro Miguel locks, the Zaandam enters the small Lake Miraflores, like Lake Gatun, formed by the dam. Here we will have to wait a little - along a parallel thread of locks a huge floating crane is being pulled towards us, and for some time the ships go only along one thread.
49. We go out into the water area and stop. We'll have to wait half an hour until the ship in front of us locks into two chambers, and it's our turn.
50. The ships following us are also waiting - a small traffic jam! 🙂
51. On the left you can see the dam on the river that formed the Miraflores reservoir.
52. Finally, the lock chambers are cleared and are ready to receive our ship. This arrow shows the skippers which of the two lines they need to go to.
53. We go into the left chamber, and towards us from the right chamber the tugboat finally slowly brings out a huge floating crane, the “culprit” of the traffic jam. Now the locking process will go much faster again.
54. Near the upper left chamber is the Panama Canal Visitor Center. There are several large open areas, from where anyone can look at the ships passing through the locks.
55. There is also a webcam from which our ship can be seen as the largest one on the canal. Separating yourself from the crowd, here you can pose gorgeously for your friends and say hello to the Motherland that doesn’t sleep at midnight! At this moment, from the outside we look like this. 🙂
Having said goodbye to our friends, we disappear from the field of view of the video cameras. Now see you in two weeks at home, but for now the Zaandam is heading to the last chamber of the Miraflores lock, after which it will leave the Panama Canal, enter the Pacific Ocean and continue its cruise along the coast of South America.
56. The observation decks of the Miraflores tourist center are crowded. The passage of a cruise ship through the canal is a significant event and a unique opportunity for many land tourists to capture rare footage.
57. Excitement!!!
58. The gates of the last chamber of the Miraflores locks are closing - the final lock, and we will again find ourselves at ocean level.
59. Before the construction of two permanent bridges on the Panama Canal, this drawbridge operated, through which communication between the two Americas was carried out for 50 years. 🙂
60. Locomotive driver at work.
61. Locking is finished - let's go out! 🙂
62. The Pacific Slope locks of the Panama Canal remain behind.
63. On the Pacific slope, the construction of the second stage of locks is also actively underway - the outline of the future new water staircase is already visible here.
65. We leave the Pacific container port on the left.
66. The exit to the Pacific Ocean is unusually beautiful - we pass under the openwork arch of the Bridge of Americas, opened in 1962.
67. On the left is a magnificent panorama of the city of Panama, the capital of the state of the same name, surrounded by green hills.
69. The pilot boat picks up the pilots accompanying the ship on the Panama Canal, and, giving a good-natured siren as a farewell, returns back.
70. There are also many ships at the entrance to the Panama Canal on the Pacific side.
72. A fresh wind blows in the face, emerging into the open space “Zaandam” is accompanied by a flock of birds...
73. We are in the Pacific Ocean!
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