DOCSLIB.ORG

Canal De Panama 1914 Since the 1800S, the Desire to Ship Goods Between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans Was Considered by Many People and Countries

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Canal De Panama 1914 Since the 1800S, the Desire to Ship Goods Between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans Was Considered by Many People and Countries Canal de Panama 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 Isthmus of Panama 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 Suez 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 United States 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 Panama Canal 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. <history.com> "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 Chagres River, 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." <britannica.com> 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 yellow fever and malaria 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. <Princess presentation> 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. <flexport.com> 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. <navsource.org> 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. <britanica.com> 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 Miraflores 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 Panamax. 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." <history.com> 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 Panama Canal Authority 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. <variety of sources> 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.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Short History of the Suez Canal.Pdf
    Acknowledgements: Thanks to my son Adam and daughter-in-law Kylie Twomey who encouraged (read constantly hounded) me to write a book that related to a lecture that I had written. I promise that this is the start of a series! Also, to my son Andrew and daughter-in-law Rachel who inspire me to maintain a thirst for greater knowledge. And to my wife Julie who supported me during the long hours of putting this book together, providing suggestions and took responsibility for formatting the pages. And to Colin Patterson at Mumby Media for his valued input in reviewing this document prior to publication. Front cover: Photo courtesy Aashay Baindur/Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Capesize_bulk_carrier_at_Suez_Canal_Bridge.JPG Back cover: Photo courtesy Alydox at English Wikipedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DeLesseps.JPG Table of Contents A Few Interesting Canal Facts.......................................................... 1 The Course of the Suez Canal ........................................................... 2 Regional Geography .......................................................................... 3 Ancient Projects ................................................................................. 6 Early Ambitions ................................................................................. 9 Early Troubles ..................................................................................13 Canal Construction ..........................................................................16 Canal Completed
    [Show full text]
  • The Panama Canal
    www.PDHcenter.com www.PDHonline.org Table of Contents Slide/s Part Description 1N/ATitle The 2 N/A Table of Contents 3~41 1 A Place of Many Fishes 42~172 2 The French Era Pana 173~372 3 Essayons 373~547 4 Gatun 548~631 5 Making the Cut ma 632~680 6 On to the Pacific 681~722 7 A Path Between the Seas 723~823 8 Strategically & Otherwise 824~853 9 Something Must Be Done Canal 854~900 10 A Canal for the 21st Century A Land Divided, A World1 2 United In1494–twoyearsafterhe set out for the East-Indies by sailing westward, master mariner and navigator Cristobol Colon (a.k.a. Part 1 Christopher Columbus), in service to the Spanish crown, announced his discovery of a “New World.” His four voyages (1492– A Place of Many Fishes 1493, 1493–1496, 1498–1500 and 1502–1504) would open the way for European exploration, exploitation, and colonization. 3 4 “…On September 25, 1513, Vasco Nunez de Balboa “…From where Balboa stood his new ocean lay directly climbed the peaks of the Continental Divide and south, because of the S-shaped twist of the Isthmus…When discovered the Pacific Balboa’s report of his discovery reached Spain, it was Ocean, which he named ‘The accompanied by the recommendation that a canal be South Sea…’” immediately dug across the Isthmus. What the explorer had Popular Mechanics, Dec. 1913 RE: the idea of digging a water in mind was a sea-level canal, for although Leonardo Da passage across the Isthmus of Vinci, the great Italian painter-engineer, had recently invented Panama to connect the Atlantic the hydraulic lock now generally used for lifting vessels over and PifiPacific O/Ocean/s emerged in the early 16th century, when elevations, it had not become widely known.
    [Show full text]
  • THE PANAMA CANAL REVIEW November 4, 1955 Commendations Outnumber Recommendations in Evaluation of Cristobal High School
    cjCj^j-:i]L^'(3) Panama Canal Museum Gift ofthe ^^ PANAMA /T^^McB CANAL, VoL 6, No. 4 BALBOA HEIGHTS, CANAL ZONE, NOVEMBER 4, 1955 5 cents Five Members Of Canal Subcommittee CANAL PAYROLL Scheduled To Arrive Here December 1 TO BE UNIFIED Five members of the House Merchant NEXT JANUARY Marine and Fisheries Committee are scheduled to arrive in the Canal Zone unified payroll for December 1 for a 10-day visit during A system which hearings will be held on various the Canal organization, as an- Canal matters. nounced last month by Gov- The five Congressmen are members of ernor Seybold, will become fully the Subcommittee on Panama Canal effective at the end of next Affairs of the Merchant Marine and first Fisheries Committee. The group will be January. The pay checks headed by Rep. Edward A. Garmatz, under the new system will be Democrat, of Maryland, Chairman of delivered in February. the Subcommittee. With the adoption of a unified payroll, are Repre- The other four members salary checks will be delivered to all sentatives T. James Tumulty, Democrat employees the same day by units of the of New Jersey; Francis E. Dom, Repub- organization. The present U. S.-rate William K. Pelt, lican of New York; Van pay period will be used as the basis for of Wisconsin; and James A. Republican all employees and timekeeping procedures Pennsylvania. All Byrne, Democrat of will be adapted to that schedule. will five members of the House be accom- Because of the size of the organization their wives. panied by and the workload involved, it will be Also accompanying the group will be necessary to stagger the paydays.
    [Show full text]
  • M. FERDINAND De LESSEPS
    M. FERDINAND de LESSEPS [front THE SPOLIATION OF SUEZ BY PIERRE CRABITÈS INTRODUCTION BY DR. GEORGE A. REISNER LONDON GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, LTD BROADWAY HOUSE: 68-74 CARTER LANE, E.C. First published, 1940 Made and Printed in Great Britain at The Mayflower Press, Plymouth. William Brendon & Son, Ltd. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS M. FERDINANDDE LESSEPS. Frontispiece PAGE TRACEOF THE SUEZCANAL . xxviii (From La Science and La Vie, Paris, 1931) FACING PAGE H.H. MUHAMMADSAID PASHA . 64 H.H. ISMAILPASHA . 108 BENJAMINDISRAELI . 176 (Rischgitz Art Studio) LORDCROMER . 196 (Rischgitz Art Studio) THESTATUE OF DE LESSEPSAT THE ENTRY OF THE CANAL 224 (From La Science and La Vie, Paris, 1931) ix Dedicated with Royal Permission TO HIS MAJESTY KING FAROUK THE FIRST OF EGYPT CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE . xi INTRODUCTIONBY DR. GEORGE A. REISNER . xiii CHAPTER I. MUHAMMADALY . 1 11. THE STRANGLE-HOLD. 14 111. THE STRANGLE-HOLDTIGHTENS . .22 IV. PROPAGANDA. 31 V. ‘L’AFFAIRE SE FERA ’ . 39 VI. THE ‘COMPAGNIE UNIVERSELLE ’ . 51 VII. SUBSCRIPTIONS . 61 VIII. RECONCILIATION . 72 IX. FOUNDERS’SHARES . 81 X. NAPOLEONINTERVENES . 93 XI. THE ACCESSIONOF ISMAIL . 102 XII. THE STATESMANSHIPOF ISMAIL . 113 XIII. THE OPENING OF THE CANAL . 124 XIV. INSOLVENCY. 133 xv. THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION . 145 XVI. ISMAILMALIGNED . 154 XVII. THE PATRIOTISMOF A JOURNALIST. 166 XVIII. WAS DISRAELIOUTMANOEUVRED ? . 176 vii ... Viii CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XIX. CROMER’SFATAL MISTAKE . 187 XX. THE BRITISHOCCUPY EGYPT . 204 XXI. NEUTRALITY. 218 XXII. THE SPANISH-AMERICANWAR . 230 XXIII. THE WORLDWAR . 240 XXIV. AFTERTHE WORLDWAR . 249 XXV. TO-DAYAND TO-MORROW . 261 INDEX . 271 PREFACE THEIntroduction to this work has been written by George A.
    [Show full text]
  • Gorgas Develops Effective Methods for Controlling Mosquitoes John Alfred Heitmann University of Dayton, [email protected]
    University of Dayton eCommons History Faculty Publications Department of History 1991 Gorgas Develops Effective Methods for Controlling Mosquitoes John Alfred Heitmann University of Dayton, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.udayton.edu/hst_fac_pub Part of the History Commons eCommons Citation Heitmann, John Alfred, "Gorgas Develops Effective Methods for Controlling Mosquitoes" (1991). History Faculty Publications. 95. https://ecommons.udayton.edu/hst_fac_pub/95 This Encyclopedia Entry is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of History at eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. 223 GORGAS DEVELOPS EFFECTIVE METHODS FOR CONTROLLING MOSQUITOES Category of event: Medicine Time: 1904-1905 Locale: Panama Canal Zone Employing recent discoveries on the role of mosquitoes in the transmission of malaria and yellow fever, Gorgas applied strict sanitary controls within the Panama region, thereby enabling construction of the canal Principal personages: WILLIAM CRAWFORD GORGAS (1854-1920), an American army surgeon and sanitarian who was appointed, in 1904, the Panama Canal Com­ mission's chief sanitary officer and eliminated yellow fever within two years SIR RONALD Ross (1857-1932), an English physician who proved con­ clusively that mosquitoes transmit malaria; awarded the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for investigations
    [Show full text]
  • Constructing the Panama Canal: a Brief History
    The Downtown Review Volume 7 Issue 2 Article 7 May 2021 Constructing the Panama Canal: A Brief History Ian E. Phillips Cleveland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/tdr Part of the American Studies Commons, Architectural History and Criticism Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, Infrastructure Commons, Labor History Commons, Latin American History Commons, Latina/o Studies Commons, Other Architecture Commons, Other Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons, Political History Commons, Public Health Commons, Social History Commons, and the United States History Commons How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! Recommended Citation Phillips, Ian E.. "Constructing the Panama Canal: A Brief History." The Downtown Review. Vol. 7. Iss. 2 (2021) . Available at: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/tdr/vol7/iss2/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at EngagedScholarship@CSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Downtown Review by an authorized editor of EngagedScholarship@CSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Phillips: Constructing the Panama Canal: A Brief History Introduction Seeking to commemorate the construction of the Panama Canal, an engineering marvel widely considered a contender for the eighth wonder of the world, this article attempts to retell the story of the Canal’s construction by synthesizing a narrative centered on the Canal under French and American leadership, worker segregation, and labor conditions at the Isthmus. Background Operating at over 50 miles in length, the Panama Canal serves as an artificially man-made gateway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, opening up a previously non-existent maritime trade route between the Panamanian isthmus.
    [Show full text]
  • Standaard Presentatie Iv-Groep
    Slim schutten of domweg doorsluizen? RAMS-optimalisatie van de nieuwe Panamasluizen ir. Arno Willems Iv-Infra Introduction 1993 TU Delft Applied Mathematics Probability, Risk and Statistics 1999 Aveco de Bondt Civil Engineering 2001 Ministry of Infrastructure & the Environment Risk Analysis 2006 Iv-Infra Risk Analysis & Contract Management Introduction Iv-Infra: • Consulting engineers for infrastructure - steel and mechanical engineering - concrete design and detailing - road engineering - field inspections & spatial measurements - project management - site supervision - risk & reliability engineering • ±180 employees • Papendrecht, Amsterdam, Nieuwegein • Part of Iv-Groep (± 1000 employees) Introduction • Storm surge barriers IHNC New Orleans, Maeslantkering, HVVOS, Ramspol, Houston barrier • Lock complexes Julianasluis, Zeedoksluis, RINK, VONK, MWW, IJmuiden, Post-Panamax locks • Steel & concrete structures Campus Maastricht, Rotating tower • Offshore Ithaca Jacky Wellhead Platform, Heerema New Build Vessel, Flexible Fall Pipe Contents • La República de Panamá • History and Motive for the Third Set of Panama Locks • RAMS-engineering of the Third Set of Panama Locks • Trip through Construction Panama • Regime: Republic • Surface: 75,517 km2 (3% water) • Residents: 3.6 million (± 50/km2) • Monetary Unit: Balboa, US$ • Religion: 80% Roman Catholic; 15% Protestant • Gross Domestic Product (GDP): $ 52.13 billion • 6% Agriculture & Fisheries •16% Industry •78% Services (Canal, banks, Colon Free Zone, assurance, container port, flagship registry, tourism) • Unemployment rate: 5 to 6% • Between Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean Sea) and Pacific Ocean (Gulf of Panama) Panama Panama Panama Panama City seen from the Pacific Ocean Panama History History Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps (Versailles, 19 november 1805 – La Chênaie, 7 december 1894) History Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, (Dijon, 15 december 1832 – Parijs, 27 december 1923) History • In 1881, a French company headed by Ferdinand de Lesseps, a former diplomat who developed Egypt’s Suez Canal, began digging a canal across Panama.
    [Show full text]
  • What Roosevelt Took: the Economic Impact of the Panama Canal, 1903-37
    Paper 06-041 What Roosevelt Took: The Economic Impact of the Panama Canal, 1903-37 Noel Maurer Carlos Yu Copyright © 2006 Noel Maurer, Carlos Yu Working papers are in draft form. This working paper is distributed for purposes of comment and discussion only. It may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder. Copies of working papers are available from the author. What Roosevelt Took Noel Maurer Carlos Yu What Roosevelt Took: The Economic Impact of the Panama Canal, 1903-37 Abstract The Panama Canal was one of the largest public investments of its time. In the first decade of its op- eration, the Canal produced significant social returns for the United States. Most of these returns were due to the transportation of petroleum from California to the East Coast. Few of these returns, however, accrued to the Panamanian population or government. U.S. policy operated to minimize the effects of the Canal on the Panamanian economy. The major exception to this policy was the American anti-malarial campaign, which improved health conditions in the port cities. “I took the Isthmus.” –President Theodore Roosevelt, 1904. “Why, it’s ours, we stole it fair and square.” –Senator Samuel Hayakawa, 1977. Modern economic historians have been skeptical of the Canal’s economic benefits to the United States. Stanley Lebergott, for example, noted that the Canal “gave equal advantage to any nation that chose to use the Canal,” and the benefits for coast-to-coast shipping accrued “in the same proportion as American railroads were injured.”1 Early boosters of the Panama Canal, however, had no such doubts.
    [Show full text]
  • Memory of the World Register - Nomination Form
    Memory of the World Register - Nomination Form Egypt - Memory of the Suez Canal Abstract The memory of the Suez Canal, which is recorded in documents, rare books, photographs, paintings..., is dispersed between different institutions in different countries, such as Suez Canal Authority in Egypt, Compagnie de Suez, Bibliothèque Nationale and Archives Nationales in Paris. Gathering this wealth together on an information system will save for humanity, the memory of a hundred year of information about one of the most important waterways that connected East to West and affected the history of the globe especially the Middle East in the last two centuries. Identity and Location Name of the Documentary Heritage: Memory of the Suez Canal Country: Egypt State, Province or Region: Egyptian Embassy - Paris Address: Cultural Bureau Egyptian Embassy 56, Avenue d'Iéna 75116 PARIS France Name of Institution: Cultural Bureau - Egyptian Embassy – Paris Legal Information Owner: Cultural Bureau - Egyptian Embassy - Paris - France Suez Canal Authority - Ismailia - Egypt Association of the Friends of Ferdinand de Lesseps - Paris - France Suez Company - Paris - France Custodian: Dr Fathi SALEH Legal Status: Category of ownership: Public Details of legal and administrative provisions for the preservation of the documentary heritage: Customary library care Accessibility: Public access and use in the reading rooms Copyright status: No copyright restrictions Responsible administration: Cultural Bureau, Egyptian Embassy, 56, Avenue d'Iéna, 75116 PARIS - France = Identification Description: Documents, manuscripts and images of the old times (inauguration of the Suez Canal) are dispersed between many organizations. The Association of the Friends of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the Company of Suez and the Suez Canal Authority are the most important sources.
    [Show full text]
  • THE PANAMA CANAL: by KEN STIER FEAT of ENGINEERING © Jon Hicks/Corbis
    THE PANAMA CANAL: BY KEN STIER FEAT OF ENGINEERING © Jon Hicks/Corbis 8 BOSS 4 s u mm e r 2014 An ambitious expansion will double the cargo-carrying capacity of the canal, which famously unites THE PANAMA CANAL: the Atlantic and Pacific oceans FEAT OF ENGINEERING A cargo ship clears Gatun Locks. Once a ship starts its passage through the locks, it can take eight to 10 hours to pass from one ocean to another. www.dixonva lve.co m s u mm e r 2014 4 BOSS 9 hen the Panama Canal opened 100 years ago to great fanfare, few could have imagined Wthat the marvel of engineering would ever need to be enlarged. But as the canal marks its centennial anniversary this year, it is indeed getting its fi rst major expansion— a third set of locks that will double its cargo capacity and along the way alter trading patterns, particularly for East Coast ports in the United States. Th e $5.2 billion expansion, which got under way in 2007, is expected to be completed in 2015. In addition to a new three-step lock complex, the original American-built canal will have new approach channels, a 2.3-kilometer- long dam, and wider and deeper navigational channels going to and through Gatun Lake, an artifi cial lake AFP/Newscom long ago created in the middle of the This undated fi le photo shows workers building one of the gates at the Gatun Locks on the isthmus to provide water for transport- Panama Canal. The canal has three locks: Mirafl ores and Pedro Miguel on the Pacifi c side and ing ships from one coast to the other.
    [Show full text]
  • The Panama Canal Turns 100: History and Possible Future Scenarios
    www.cepal.org/transporte Issue No. 334 – Number 6 / 2014 BULLETIN FACILITATION OF TRANSPORT AND TRADE IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN This issue of the FAL Bulletin sets out a brief history of the Panama Canal, its construction and The Panama Canal its social and political impact on Panama, within the context of international trade at the time. This issue also reviews the recovery of the canal by the Republic of Panama and subsequent major events, turns 100: history and including the decision to expand the canal and the start-up of work on the expansion project. The authors are Rodolfo Sabonge, consultant, possible future scenarios Infrastructure Services Unit of ECLAC, and Ricardo J. Sánchez, Officer-in-Charge of the Natural Resources and Infrastructure Division of ECLAC. For further information contact [email protected]. The opinions expressed herein are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the organization. Introduction Introduction The 100th anniversary of the opening of the Panama Canal finds a world I. The beginning clouded with uncertainty as to the outlook for the international economy —a world where trade relations and trade flows and, therefore, international II. Building the canal across Panama maritime transport, are changing. Part of this process is related to changes in global maritime trade arteries (the Panama Canal included), but also to shifting geopolitical interests worldwide. Just as the Panama Canal was born III Social and political impact in Panama of similar shifts, new players are now vying to gain control of resources, major infrastructure facilities and transport routes.
    [Show full text]
  • Nicaragua, Panama and the Dream of a Canal (Part 1)
    › Part 1 32 TheStructuralEngineer Professional guidance April 2016 New dream, old story? Nicaragua, Panama and the dream of a canal (part 1) immense. It would reduce the 14 000-mile sea route – geography ruled out a sea-level journey from New York to San Francisco to canal, which is what he’d built at Suez. But just 6000 miles, avoiding the need to travel he believed such a canal was possible in round treacherous Cape Horn. Nicaragua was Panama, without the need for locks. While With Nicaragua planning a the fi rst choice of route, with Panama a close critics disagreed with him, de Lesseps, now new canal to link the Atlantic second, but as is often the case, the attributes aged 74 and at the height of his fame, simply and Pacifi c, Sean Brady of the idea were less important than the man ignored them, saying “science has declared selling it. that the canal is possible and I am the servant considers the lessons of Frenchman, Vicomte Ferdinand de Lesseps, of science”3. the Panama Canal when certainly had the right attributes: charisma, He travelled to the isthmus, and with French engineers face up to nature conviction and distinguished heritage. The fl ags fl ying was given a hero’s welcome. Back family’s wealth, however, was a fi ction, and de in France he set up a private newspaper to on such a grand scale. Lesseps found himself, at age 43, a disgraced promote the canal, went on a lecture tour, and diplomat4. He then attempted the most unlikely bribed infl uential newspapers and politicians of endeavours, building the Suez Canal.
    [Show full text]