Canal de 1914 Since the 1800s, the desire to ship goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans was considered by many people and countries. Historically, ships made that ocean to ocean journey by sailing around Cape Horn in South America. That voyage involved 8,000 nautical miles. Shortening it would mean a substantial savings in time and cost. The was thought of as a logical place to develop a passage. During the 16th century, the Spanish realized the advantages of a canal. In 1881, the French, under the direction of Ferdinand de Lesseps (builder of the Canal), with government and private investors, attempted the construction after the Columbian government granted a concession to build by de Lesseps' group. The terrain and disease took its toll and in 1898 the function ceased. With less than one‐half of the excavation completed, the French sold the enterprise to the for $40 million in 1902. In 1902, the Spooner Act was passed by the U.S. Congress. It approved the purchase of the assets of the French company and the building of a canal. It also provided for a negotiated treaty with Colombia to take place. During the negotiations, however, Panama, a part of Columbia, declared its independence. This was recognized by the United States in November of 1903. What followed was the creation of the Zone in February of 1904. There were complications though because Nicaragua and Panama were proposed canal routes. President Theodore Roosevelt was the catalyst that committed the United States to build the canal through Panama. Construction began in 1906. "The French had abandoned the sea‐level approach in favour of a high‐level canal with locks, and indeed that was desirable as it would cost less and would eliminate potential problems arising from differences in sea levels at either end of the waterway. Yet engineers still disagreed on the type of canal that should be built, and they faced another problem of equal importance: how to manage the , which rose in the northeast highland region of Panama and emptied into the Atlantic. From Gamboa to Gatún the route of the proposed canal tended to follow the path of the river as it made its way to the sea." A lock‐type canal and damming the Chagres River to create the then largest artificial lake (Gatún) was set in‐place. As construction began, again terrain and disease took a toll in human lives. Over 40,000 people were employed by the United States. They included laborers from the West Indian Island of Barbados, Martinique and Guadeloupe. During the French construction over 20,000 lives were lost. During the American effort nearly 6,000 lives were lost. As noted, during a pre‐canal transit presentation onboard our ship, the number of deaths were difficult to precisely assess because coordination and documentation of workers was not exact. A worker's life during that period may have experienced, "at work by Monday, dead by Friday." The U.S. used a railroad and heavy machinery system. We were told that over 100 steam shovels were used during the Culebra Cut, also called the Gaillard Cut. A U.S. engineer and railroad specialist, John Stevens, supervised the effort until his death in 1913. We experienced temperatures that could be over 100 degrees with 100 percent humidity. Chief sanitary officer Dr. William Borgas was responsible for helping fight and diseases. He began a system of fumigation and water cleansing. The original water filter station is still in use today. Malaria and yellow fever are health concerns in certain regions of Central America. On May 10, 1913, an Atlantic and Pacific Ocean connection was completed. The Canal was built by the USA for $375,000,000, using today's equivalent value, the cost of the Panama Canal would be $15 billion. On August 15, 1914 the Panama Canal opened to traffic. The first ship to pass was the SS Ancon, built in 1902 as Shawmut by the Maryland Steel Co. at Sparrows Point, MD. During the 1900s canal improvements were made. It included lighting, widening and deepening the canal channel. On September 15, 1977, a treaty was signed that would eventually give Panama control of the canal. On December 31, 1999, the U.S. gave Panama control of the canal. 1914 Canal Facts: Length 50 miles (80 km); average transit 8 to 10 hours; 12,000‐15,000 ships per year; 52 million gallons of water used during each transit. The Panama Canal completed in 1914 was and still is an engineering wonder of the world. My wife and I signed up for a "Panama Canal & Locks Transit by Boat" excursion through the first canal system, the 1914 Locks and Pedro Miguel Locks. We were also to cross the Continental Divide into Gatún Lake on the Pacific side, the Gaillard or Culebra Cut and view some of the largest dredges in the world. Unfortunately, departure timing from the Princess and Tender issues to the Panama Ferry boat caused the ferry to miss the ship it was to follow into the locks. The ferry boat was also required to have a Panamanian Canal official to be the pilot of the ferry through the locks. The deadline passed and no pilot showed. For your information, the total excursion cost was refunded by Princess Cruises. This photo program has been made possible by the gracious help of our friend, Roger A. Stigers who visited the Miraflores locks and shared his photography with my wife and me. Thank you, Rog! The 1914 Canal has twelve locks. Miraflores on the Pacific with a two‐step flight, Pedro Miguel with a single flight and the Gatún with a triple flight with two lanes. With a useable length of 1,000 feet the size of container ships became limited. Maximum size of ships was designated . Tides, water level in the Gatún Lakes, floods have caused problems for lock usage. Each lock requires 26,7000,000 US gallons of water to operate. The are filled by gravity.

"Construction of the locks began with the pouring of concrete at Gatún in August 1909. Built in pairs, with each chamber measuring 110 feet wide by 1,000 feet long, the locks were embedded with culverts that leveraged gravity to raise and lower water levels. Ultimately, the three locks along the canal route lifted ships 85 feet above sea level, to man‐made Gatún Lake in the middle. Hollow, buoyant lock gates were also built, varying in height from 47 to 82 feet. The entire enterprise was powered by electricity and run through a control board."

Mulas (mules) guide ships through the canal. They are run by electricity and control the side‐to‐side and braking within the locks. Large ships may use eight mules while in transit. Smaller vessels use manual handlines. Additional gates are used to prevent flooding as a safeguard. Hydroelectric dams provide the electricity. Several models have been used since 1914. Each mule has 290 horsepower and weigh 50 tons, made by Mitsubishi. By 2006, the Panama Canal was becoming obsolete.

The reason had to do with container ships and their expansion in global commerce.

Size of a ship matters when traveling through the Panama Canal. The published limits and requirements. This includes width, length, draft, and capacity. The 1914 Canal limits were set to ships identified as Panamax.

They are: Tonnage: 52,500 DWT (Deadweight tonnage). This measures how much weight a ship can carry. Length: 950 feet; Beam: 106 feet; Height: 190 feet; Draft: 30.5 feet; and Capacity: 5,000 TEU (a 20‐foot container).

Panamax ships require precise control of the vessels in a lock; hence Panamanian Pilots are used. Also, the Culebra or Gaillard Cut requires one‐ way transit.

The USA uses the canal the most followed by China, Japan, Chile and North Korea. The Canal transports 4% of world trade and 16% of US‐borne trade. 60 million tons of dynamite were used to excavate the canal. With the use of florescent lighting in 1963, the canal began to operate 24 hours a day. Total concrete 5 million cubic yards.

Roger A. Stigers is a retired Senior Health Physicist from the PPL Susquehanna nuclear power plant. He was born and raised in Iowa. He is a former educator and coach in Cedar Rapids. His math and science background led him to a Radiation Protection Supervisory position for Iowa Electric. Roger moved to Pennsylvania in 1987.

His passion and hobby is traveling in the United States and abroad. He enjoys meeting people with different backgrounds and cultures. He has traveled to forty-eight (48) states and many countries. He has traveled extensively in Asia, North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Sources: Touring the Canal: An oral history, Presentation onboard of Panama Canal, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899‐1913/panama‐canal, https://www.history.com/topics/landmarks/panama‐canal, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Panama‐Canal, http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/171467.htm, http://www.canalmuseum.com/100years/100yearspanamacanal‐22.htm, http://www.panamarailroad.org/pg3.html, http://www.pancanal.com/eng/projects/locomotive.html, https://www.flexport.com/blog/history‐of‐panama‐ canal, https://www.maritime‐executive.com/article/evergreen‐container‐ship‐makes‐record‐transit‐through‐panama‐canal, https://www.history.com/news/7‐fascinating‐facts‐about‐the‐panama‐canal and https://www.worldwildlife.org/blogs/good‐nature‐travel/posts/ten‐facts‐ about‐the‐panama‐canal. acuri.net John R. Vincenti and Roger A. Stigers Panama Canal 1914