Panama Canal Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! {{Short description|Shipping route across Central America}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2019}} {{Use American English|date=June 2023}} {{Infobox canal | name = Panama Canal<br/>{{lang|es|Canal de Panamá}} | image = Panama Canal Map EN.svg | image_caption = A schematic of the Panama Canal, illustrating the sequence of locks and passages | former_names = | original_owner = | engineer = [[Ferdinand de Lesseps]], [[John Findley Wallace]] (1904–1905), [[John Frank Stevens]] (1905–1907), [[George Washington Goethals]] (1907–1914) | other_engineer = | date_began = {{start date and age|1904|May|4|mf=yes}} | date_use = | date_completed = {{start date and age|1914|August|15|mf=yes}} | date_extended = {{start date and age|2016|June|26|mf=yes}} | date_closed = | date_restored = | length_km = 82 | len_m = 366 | len_note = | beam_m = 49 | original_beam_m = 28.5 | max_boat_draft = {{convert|15.2|m|ft|abbr=on}} | max_boat_air_draft = {{convert|57.91|m|ft|abbr=on}} | beam_note = | start_point = Atlantic Ocean | original_start = | start_note = | end_point = Pacific Ocean | original_end = | end_note = | branch = | branch_of = | connects_to = Pacific Ocean from Atlantic Ocean and vice versa | locks = 3 locks up, 3 down per transit; all three lanes | original_num_locks = | lock_note = 3 lanes of locks | elev = | elev_note = | status = Opened in 1914; expansion opened June 26, 2016 | navigation_authority = [[Panama Canal Authority]] }} [[File:Pm-map.png|thumb|upright=1.25|Location of [[Panama]] between the [[Pacific Ocean]] (bottom) and the [[Caribbean Sea]] (top), with the canal at top center]] The '''Panama Canal''' ({{lang-es|Canal de Panamá|link=no}}) is an artificial {{convert |82|km|adj=on|abbr=off}} waterway in Panama that connects the [[Atlantic Ocean]] with the [[Pacific Ocean]], cutting across the [[Isthmus of Panama]], and is a [[Channel (geography)|conduit]] for maritime trade. [[Lock (water navigation)|Lock]]s at each end lift ships up to [[Gatun Lake]], an artificial [[fresh water]] lake {{convert|26|m|ft|sp=us}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]], created by damming up the [[Chagres River]] and [[Lake Alajuela]] to reduce the amount of excavation work required for the canal. Locks then lower the ships at the other end. An average of {{convert |52000000|usgal|L|abbr=on|order=flip}} of fresh water is used in a single passing of a ship. The canal is threatened by low water levels during droughts. The Panama Canal shortcut greatly reduces the time for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, enabling them to avoid the lengthy, hazardous route around the southernmost tip of [[South America]] via the [[Drake Passage]] or [[Strait of Magellan]]. It is one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken. [[Colombia]], France, and later the [[United States]] controlled the territory surrounding the canal during construction. France began work on the canal in 1881, but stopped because of lack of investors' confidence due to engineering problems and a high worker [[mortality rate]]. The US took over the project in 1904 and opened the canal in 1914. The US continued to control the canal and surrounding [[Panama Canal Zone]] until the [[Torrijos–Carter Treaties]] provided for its handover to Panama in 1977. After a period of joint American–Panamanian control, the Panamanian government took control in 1999. It is now managed and operated by the Panamanian government-owned [[Panama Canal Authority]]. The original locks are {{convert|33.5|m|ft|sp=us}} wide and allow the passage of [[Panamax]] ships. A [[Panama Canal expansion project|third, wider lane of locks]] was [[construction|constructed]] between September 2007 and May 2016. The expanded waterway began commercial operation on June 26, 2016. The new locks allow transit of larger, [[New Panamax|Neopanamax]] ships. Annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in 1914, when the canal opened, to 14,702 vessels in 2008, for a total of 333.7 million [[Measurement ton|Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS) tons]]. By 2012, more than 815,000 vessels had passed through the canal.<ref name="canalusage">{{cite web|url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/maritime/routes.html|title=Panama Canal Traffic—Years 1914–2010|website=Panama Canal Authority|access-date=2011-01-25|archive-date=December 30, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230042623/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/maritime/routes.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, it took ships an average of 11.38 hours to pass between the canal's two outer locks. The [[American Society of Civil Engineers]] has ranked the Panama Canal one of the [[Wonders of the World#American Society of Civil Engineers|Seven Wonders of the Modern World]].<ref name="ASCE">{{cite web|url=http://www.asce.org/content.aspx?id=2147487305 |title=Seven Wonders |website=American Society of Civil Engineers |access-date=2011-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100802060056/http://www.asce.org/Content.aspx?id=2147487305 |archive-date=2010-08-02 }}</ref> ==History== {{Main| History of the Panama Canal}} ===Early proposals in Panama=== [[File:Panama.A2003087.1850.250m.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Satellite image showing the location of the Panama Canal: dense jungles are visible in green, topped by clouds.]] The earliest record regarding a canal across the Isthmus of Panama was in 1534, when [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], [[Holy Roman Emperor]] and King of Spain, ordered a survey for a route through the Americas in order to ease the voyage for ships traveling between Spain and Peru. The Spanish were seeking to gain a military advantage over the Portuguese.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/index.html |title=A History of the Panama Canal: French and American Construction Efforts |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=2007-09-03 |archive-date=December 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215060157/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/index.html |url-status=dead}}; Chapter 3, ''[http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/early.html Some Early Canal Plans] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102032703/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/early.html |date=January 2, 2015 |url-status=dead}}''</ref> In 1668, the English physician and philosopher Sir [[Thomas Browne]] speculated in his encyclopedic work, ''[[Pseudodoxia Epidemica]],'' that "some Isthmus have been eaten through by the Sea, and others cut by the spade: And if the policy would permit, that of Panama in America were most worthy the attempt: it being but few miles over, and would open a shorter cut unto the East Indies and China".<ref>{{cite book |section=Book 6, chapter 8 |title=On the River Nile |edition=4th |year=1668 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aOI_AQAAMAAJ |last1=Browne |first1=Sir Thomas |author-link=Thomas Browne |access-date=January 10, 2022 |archive-date=November 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119062425/https://books.google.com/books?id=aOI_AQAAMAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref> Given the strategic location of Panama, and the potential of its narrow isthmus separating two great oceans, other trade links in the area were attempted over the years. One early example of this was ill-fated [[Darien scheme]], launched by the [[Kingdom of Scotland]] in 1698 to set up an overland trade route. Generally inhospitable conditions thwarted the effort, and it was abandoned in April 1700.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kinnaird.net/darien.htm|title=Darien Expedition|access-date=2007-09-03|archive-date=July 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719173435/http://www.kinnaird.net/darien.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1788, Americans suggested that the Spanish should build the canal, since they controlled the colonies where it would be built. They said that this would be a less treacherous route for ships than going around the southern tip of South America, and that tropical ocean currents would naturally widen the canal after construction.<ref>{{cite book|title=Meteorology in America, 1800–1870|author=James Rodger Fleming|page=4|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|date=1990|isbn=0801839580}}</ref> During an expedition from 1788 to 1793, [[Alessandro Malaspina]] outlined plans for construction of a canal.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Caso |first=Adolph |url=http://archive.org/details/theytoomadeameri00caso |title=They too made America great |date=1978 |publisher=Boston : Branden Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8283-1714-6 |pages=72}}</ref> Numerous canals were built in other countries in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The success of the [[Erie Canal]] through central [[New York (state)|New York]] in the United States in the 1820s and the collapse of the [[Spanish Empire]] in Latin America resulted in growing American interest in building an inter-oceanic canal. Beginning in 1826, US officials began negotiations with [[Gran Colombia]] (present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama), hoping to gain a concession to build a canal. Jealous of their newly gained independence and fearing domination by the more powerful United States, president [[Simón Bolívar]] and [[Republic of New Granada|New Granada]] officials declined American offers. After the collapse of Gran Colombia, New Granada remained unstable under constant government intrigue.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} Great Britain attempted to develop a canal in 1843. According to the ''[[New-York Tribune|New-York Daily Tribune]]'', August 24, 1843, [[Barings Bank]] of London and the [[Republic of New Granada]] entered into a contract for the construction of a canal across the [[Isthmus of Darien]] (Isthmus of Panama). They referred to it as the Atlantic and Pacific Canal, and it was a wholly British endeavor. Projected for completion in five years, the plan was never carried out. At nearly the same time, other ideas were floated, including a canal (and/or a railroad) across Mexico's [[Isthmus of Tehuantepec]]. That did not develop, either.<ref>[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030213/1843-08-24/ed-1/seq-/#date1=1836&index=1&rows=20&words=Lexington+Ship+ship&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=New+York&date2=1850&proxtext=lexington+ship&y=10&x=16&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1)]{{Dead link|date=June 2019}}</ref> In 1846, the [[Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty]], negotiated between the US and New Granada, granted the United States transit rights and the right to intervene militarily in the isthmus. In 1848, the [[California Gold Rush|discovery of gold in California]], on the West Coast of the United States, generated renewed interest in a canal crossing between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. [[William Henry Aspinwall]], who had won the federal subsidy to build and operate the Pacific mail steamships at around the same time, benefited from the gold discovery. Aspinwall's route included steamship legs from New York City to Panama, and from Panama to California, with an overland portage through Panama. This route with an overland leg in Panama was soon frequently traveled, as it provided one of the fastest connections between San Francisco, California, and the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] cities, about 40 days' transit in total. Nearly all the gold that was shipped out of California went by the fast Panama route. Several new and larger paddle steamers were soon plying this new route, including private steamship lines owned by American entrepreneur [[Cornelius Vanderbilt]] that made use of an overland route through Nicaragua, and the unfortunate [[SS Central America|SS ''Central America'']].<ref>{{cite book|title=The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt|first=T.J.|last=Stiles|date=2009|publisher=Knopf |isbn=9780375415425}}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2020}} [[File:Admiralty Chart No 657 Isthmus of Panama Showing The Proposed Panama Canal and the Railway . . . , Published 1885.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Map showing the Railway and the proposed Panama Canal route]] In 1850, the United States began construction of the [[Panama Canal Railway|Panama Railroad]] (now called the Panama Railway) to cross the isthmus; it opened in 1855. This overland link became a vital piece of Western Hemisphere infrastructure, greatly facilitating trade. The later canal route was constructed parallel to it, as it had helped clear dense forests.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} An all-water route between the oceans was still the goal. In 1855, [[William Kennish]], a [[Isle of Man|Manx]]-born engineer working for the United States government, surveyed the isthmus and issued a report on a route for a proposed Panama Canal.<ref name=mw>{{Cite book |author=A.W. Moore |date=1901 |entry-url=http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/worthies/p118.htm |title=Manx Worthies or Biographies of Notable Manx Men and Women |entry=William Kennish (b. 1799, d. 1862) |page=118 |location=Douglas, Isle of Man |publisher=S. K. Broadbent |via=isle-of-man.com |access-date=February 8, 2010 |archive-date=June 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628225110/http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/worthies/p118.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> His report was published as a book entitled ''The Practicability and Importance of a Ship Canal to Connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rAwsAAAAYAAJ |title=The Practicability and Importance of a Ship Canal to Connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans |last1=Kelley |first1=Frederick M. |last2=Kennish |first2=William |last3=Serrell |first3=Edward Wellman |year=1855 |access-date=February 27, 2016 |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728094150/https://books.google.com/books?id=rAwsAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2020}} [[File:Aktie Canal de Panama 1880.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Share of the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique de Panama, issued 29. November 1880 – signed by Ferdinand de Lesseps]] In 1876, [[Lucien Napoléon Bonaparte-Wyse|Lucien Napoléon Bonaparte Wyse]] and his chief assistant Armand Réclus, both officers and engineers of the [[French Navy]], explored several routes in the Darien-Atrato regions and made proposals including the construction of tunnels and locks.<ref name="Reclus">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wmwYAAAAYAAJ |first=Gérard |last=Fauconnier |title=Panama: Armand Reclus et le canal océans |publisher=University of Virginia reprint in French Panama Atlantica |year=2004 |isbn=9782843946684 |access-date=January 10, 2022 |archive-date=October 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025161009/https://books.google.com/books?id=wmwYAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2020}} A second Isthmian exploratory visit began on December 6, 1877, where two routes were explored in Panama, the San Blas route and a route from Limon Bay to Panama City, the current Canal route. The French had achieved success in building the [[Suez Canal]] in the Middle East. While it was a lengthy project, they were encouraged to plan for a canal to cross the Panamanian isthmus.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=58–59}} Wyse went to Bogotá and on March 20, 1878, signed a treaty, in the name of the ''Société civile internationale du Canal interocéanique par l'isthme du Darien'' headed by general Étienne Türr, with the Colombian government, known as the Wyse concession, to build an interoceanic canal through Panama. ===French construction attempts, 1881–1899=== [[File:Ferdinand de Lesseps by Nadar.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Ferdinand de Lesseps]], the French originator of the [[Suez Canal]] and the Panama Canal]] The first attempt to construct a canal through what was then Colombia's province of Panama began on January 1, 1881. The project was inspired by the diplomat [[Ferdinand de Lesseps]], who was able to raise considerable funds in [[French Third Republic|France]] as a result of the huge profits generated by his successful construction of the [[Suez Canal]].{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |p=125}} Although the Panama Canal needed to be only 40 percent as long as the Suez Canal, it was much more of an engineering challenge because of the combination of tropical rain forests, debilitating climate, the need for canal locks, and the lack of any ancient route to follow. Lesseps wanted a sea-level canal (like the Suez), but he visited the site only a few times, during the dry season which lasts only four months of the year.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=103–123}} His men were unprepared for the rainy season, during which the [[Chagres River]], where the canal started, became a raging torrent, rising up to {{cvt|10|m|ft}}. The dense jungle was alive with venomous snakes, insects, and spiders, but the worst challenges were [[yellow fever]], [[malaria]], and other tropical diseases, which killed thousands of workers; by 1884, the death rate was over 200 per month.{{sfn|Cadbury|2003|pages=201–204}} Public health measures were ineffective because the role of the mosquito as a [[Vector (epidemiology)|disease vector]] was then unknown. Conditions were downplayed in France to avoid recruitment problems,<ref name="French" /> but the high mortality rate made it difficult to maintain an experienced workforce. [[File:1886 bas obispo.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Excavator at work in Bas Obispo, 1886]] Workers had to continually widen the main cut through the mountain at Culebra and reduce the angles of the slopes to minimize landslides into the canal.<ref>{{Cite book|last= Rocco |first= Fiammetta |title= The Miraculous Fever-Tree |year= 2003 |publisher= HarperCollins |isbn= 0-00-653235-7 |page= 192}}</ref> [[Steam shovel]]s were used in the construction of the canal, purchased from Bay City Industrial Works, a business owned by [[William L. Clements]] in [[Bay City, Michigan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/3000|title=The Panama Canal: Explorers, pirates, scientists and engineers – University of Michigan News|date=April 18, 2007|work=umich.edu|access-date=April 20, 2016|archive-date=July 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701003956/http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/3000|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Bucket chain excavators]] manufactured by both [[Alphonse Couvreux]] and Wehyer & Richemond and Buette were also used.<ref name="Haddock">{{cite book|author=Keith Haddock|title=Giant Earthmovers : An Illustrated History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oyX4X1B_hLsC&pg=PA174|publisher=MotorBooks International|isbn=978-1-61060-586-1|pages=173–174}}</ref> Other mechanical and electrical equipment was limited in capabilities, and steel equipment rusted rapidly in the rainy climate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/index.html |title=Read our history: The French Canal Construction |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=2007-09-03 |archive-date=December 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215060157/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In France, Lesseps kept the investment and supply of workers flowing long after it was obvious that the targets were not being met, but eventually the money ran out. The French effort went bankrupt in 1889 after reportedly spending US$287,000,000; an estimated 22,000 men died from disease and accidents, and the savings of 800,000 investors were lost.<ref name="French">{{Cite book |chapter-url=http://www.czbrats.com/Builders/FRCanal/failure.htm |chapter=The French Failure |title=America's Triumph in Panama |first=Ralph E. |last=Avery |publisher=L.W. Walter Company |location=Chicago, IL |year=1913 |access-date=January 10, 2022 |archive-date=July 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728050134/http://www.czbrats.com/Builders/FRCanal/failure.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Cadbury|2003|p=262}} Work was suspended on May 15, and in the ensuing scandal, known as the [[Panama scandals|Panama affair]], some of those deemed responsible were prosecuted, including [[Gustave Eiffel]].{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |p=224}} Lesseps and his son Charles were found guilty of misappropriation of funds and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. This sentence was later overturned, and the father, at age 88, was never imprisoned.<ref name="French" /> In 1894, a second French company, the Compagnie Nouvelle du Canal de Panama, was created to take over the project. A minimal workforce of a few thousand people was employed primarily to comply with the terms of the Colombian Panama Canal concession, to run the [[Panama Railroad]], and to maintain the existing excavation and equipment in salable condition. The company sought a buyer for these assets, with an asking price of US$109,000,000. In the meantime, they continued with enough activity to maintain their franchise. [[Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla|Phillipe Bunau-Varilla]], the French manager of the New Panama Canal Company, eventually managed to persuade Lesseps that a lock-and-lake canal was more realistic than a sea-level canal.{{sfn|Cadbury|2003|p=261}}The Comité Technique, a high level technical committee, was formed by the Compagnie Nouvelle to review the studies and work—that already finished and that still ongoing—and come up with the best plan for completing the canal. The committee arrived on the Isthmus in February 1896 and went immediately, quietly and efficiently about their work of devising the best possible canal plan, which they presented on November 16, 1898. Many aspects of the plan were similar in principle to the canal that was finally built by the Americans in 1914.<ref>Panama Canal Official Site – History – https://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910235443/https://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/ |date=September 10, 2021 }} select chapter The French Canal Construction – accessed 9/11/2021</ref> It was a lock canal with two high level lakes to lift ships up and over the Continental Divide. Double locks would be 738 feet long and about 30 feet deep ({{cvt|738|x|30|ft|m|0|disp=out}}); one chamber of each pair would be {{convert|82|ft|m}} wide, the other {{cvt|59|ft|m}}. There would be eight sets of locks, two at Bohio Soldado and two at Obispo on the Atlantic side; one at Paraiso, two at Pedro Miguel, and one at Miraflores on the Pacific. Artificial lakes would be formed by damming the Chagres River at Bohio and Alhajuela, providing both flood control and electric power. ===United States acquisition=== [[File:Panama canal cartooon 1903.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The US's intentions to influence the area (especially the Panama Canal construction and control) led to the [[separation of Panama from Colombia]] in 1903.]] [[File:125-French method of excavation in Culebra Cut.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The [[Culebra Cut]] in 1896]] [[File:PSM V61 D312 The culebra cut.png|thumb|upright=1.3|The Culebra Cut in 1902]] At this time, the President and the Senate of the United States were interested in establishing a canal across the isthmus, with some favoring a [[Nicaragua Canal|canal across Nicaragua]] and others advocating the purchase of the French interests in Panama. [[Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla|Bunau-Varilla]], who was seeking American involvement, asked for $100 million, but accepted $40 million in the face of the Nicaraguan option. In June 1902, the US Senate voted in favor of the [[Spooner Act]], to pursue the Panamanian option, provided the necessary rights could be obtained.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=305–328}} On January 22, 1903, the [[Hay–Herrán Treaty]] was signed by [[United States Secretary of State]] [[John M. Hay]] and Colombian [[Chargé d'affaires|Chargé]] [[Tomás Herrán]]. For $10 million and an annual payment, it would have granted the United States a renewable [[lease]] in perpetuity from Colombia on the land proposed for the canal.<ref>{{cite web |date=1903-11-18 |title=Hay-Herrán Treaty |url=http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h930.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214090737/http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h930.html |archive-date=February 14, 2012 |access-date=2010-10-24 |publisher=U-S-history.com}}</ref> The treaty was ratified by the US Senate on March 14, 1903, but the [[Senate of Colombia]] unanimously rejected the treaty since it had become significantly unpopular in Bogotá due to concerns over insufficient compensation, threat to sovereignty, and perpetuity.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hay-Herran Treaty (1903) |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/hay-herran-treaty-1903}}</ref> Roosevelt changed tactics, based in part on the [[Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty]] of 1846, and actively supported the [[separation of Panama from Colombia]]. Shortly after recognizing Panama, he signed a treaty with the new Panamanian government under terms similar to the Hay–Herrán Treaty.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Livingstone|first1=Grace|title=America's Backyard : The United States and Latin America from the Monroe Doctrine to the War on Terror|date=2009|publisher=Zed|location=London|isbn=9781848132146|pages=13}}</ref> On November 2, 1903, US warships blocked sea lanes against possible Colombian troop movements en route to put down the Panama rebellion. Panama declared independence on November 3, 1903. The United States quickly recognized the new nation.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=361–386}} This happened so quickly that by the time the Colombian government in [[Bogotá]] launched a response to the Panamanian uprising US troops had already entered the rebelling province. The Colombian troops dispatched to Panama were hastily assembled conscripts with little training. While these conscripts may have been able to defeat the Panamanian rebels, they would not have been able to defeat the US army troops that were supporting the Panamanian rebels. The reason an army of conscripts was sent was that it was the best response the Colombians could muster, as Colombia still was recovering from a civil war between Liberals and Conservatives from October, 1899, to November, 1902, known as the "[[Thousand Days' War|Thousand Days War]]". The US was fully aware of these conditions and even incorporated them into the planning of the Panama intervention as the US acted as an arbitrator between the two sides. The peace treaty that ended the "Thousand Days War" was signed on the [[USS Wisconsin (BB-9)|USS ''Wisconsin'']] on November 21, 1902. While in port, the US also brought engineering teams to Panama with the peace delegation to begin planning the canal's construction before the US had even gained the rights to build the canal. All these factors would result in the Colombians being unable to put down the Panamanian rebellion and expel the United States troops occupying what today is the independent nation of Panama.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Meade|first=Teresa A.|title=History of Modern Latin America: 1800 to the Present.|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|year=2016|isbn=978-1-118-77248-5|location=Hoboken, NJ|pages=128–130}}</ref> On November 6, 1903, Philippe Bunau-Varilla, as Panama's ambassador to the United States, signed the [[Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty]], granting rights to the United States to build and indefinitely administer the Panama Canal Zone and its defenses. This is sometimes misinterpreted as the "99-year lease" because of misleading wording included in article 22 of the agreement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/pan001.asp |title=Avalon Project—Convention for the Construction of a Ship Canal (Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty), November 18, 1903 |publisher=Avalon.law.yale.edu |access-date=2010-10-24 |archive-date=November 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104144736/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/pan001.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> Almost immediately, the treaty was condemned by many Panamanians as an infringement on their country's new national sovereignty.<ref>{{cite web|title=September 07, 1977 : Panama to control canal|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/panama-to-control-canal/print|publisher=History.com|year=2010|access-date=Apr 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410075709/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/panama-to-control-canal/print|archive-date=2015-04-10|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Lowe|first=Vaughan|title=International Law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ylwAgAAQBAJ&pg=PR92|access-date=Apr 4, 2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=66|isbn=9780191509070|date=September 28, 2007|archive-date=March 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323192553/https://books.google.com/books?id=8ylwAgAAQBAJ&pg=PR92|url-status=live}}</ref> This would later become a contentious diplomatic issue among Colombia, Panama, and the United States. President Roosevelt famously stated, "I took the Isthmus, started the canal and then left Congress not to debate the canal, but to debate me." Several parties in the United States called this an act of war on Colombia: The ''[[New York Times]]'' described the support given by the United States to Bunau-Varilla as an "act of sordid conquest".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Delano |first=Anthony |date=November 9, 2016 |title=America's devious dream: Roosevelt and the Panama Canal |url=https://www.historyextra.com/membership/americas-devious-dream-roosevelt-and-the-panama-canal/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=HistoryExtra |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Colby |first=Gerard |date=2020-01-01 |title=William S. Culbertson and The Search for The Geopolitical Imperium |url=https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/1256 |journal=Graduate College Dissertations and Theses}}</ref> The ''[[New York Post|New York Evening Post]]'' called it a "vulgar and mercenary venture".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Huffman |first=Alan |date=2014-08-15 |title=Panama Canal's 48 Miles To An 'American Century' |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/panama-canal-anniversary-2014-100-years-ago-today-navigation-project-launched-1644698 |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=International Business Times |language=en-US}}</ref> The US maneuvers are often cited as the classic example of US [[gunboat diplomacy]] in Latin America, and the best illustration of what Roosevelt meant by the old African adage, "Speak softly and carry a big stick [and] you will go far." After the revolution in 1903, the Republic of Panama became a US [[protectorate]] until 1939.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hanson |first=David C. |title=Theodore Roosevelt and the Panama Canal |url=http://www.upa.pdx.edu/IMS/currentprojects/TAHv3/Content/PDFs/Roosevelt_Panama_Canal.pdf |publisher=Virginia Western Community College |access-date=21 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201211319/http://www.upa.pdx.edu/IMS/currentprojects/TAHv3/Content/PDFs/Roosevelt_Panama_Canal.pdf |archive-date=1 February 2014 }}</ref> In 1904, the United States purchased the French equipment and excavations, including the [[Panama Railroad]], for US$40 million, of which $30 million related to excavations completed, primarily in the [[Culebra Cut]], valued at about $1.00 per cubic yard.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Panama Canal Congressional Hearings 1909 |section=Col. Goethals testimony |page=15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xmM-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA11 |access-date=26 December 2011 |last1=Committee On Appropriations |first1=United States. Congress. House |year=1913 |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110133352/https://books.google.com/books?id=xmM-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA11 |url-status=live }}</ref> The United States also paid the new country of Panama $10 million and a $250,000 payment each following year. In 1921, Colombia and the United States entered into the [[Thomson–Urrutia Treaty]], in which the United States agreed to pay Colombia $25 million: $5 million upon ratification, and four $5 million annual payments, and grant Colombia special privileges in the Canal Zone. In return, Colombia recognized Panama as an independent nation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/panama-to-control-canal |title=U.S. agrees to transfer Panama Canal to Panama |work=History.com |access-date=28 July 2021 |archive-date=November 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127014923/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/panama-to-control-canal |url-status=live }}</ref> ===United States construction of the Panama canal, 1904–1914=== [[File:John Frank Stevens.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Chief engineer [[John Frank Stevens]]]] [[File:William Crawford Gorgas.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Sanitation officer [[William C. Gorgas]]]] The US formally took control of the canal property on May 4, 1904, inheriting from the French a depleted workforce and a vast jumble of buildings, infrastructure, and equipment, much of it in poor condition. A US government commission, the [[Isthmian Canal Commission]] (ICC), was established to oversee construction; it was given control of the Panama Canal Zone, over which the United States exercised sovereignty.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=273–274}} The commission reported directly to [[Secretary of War]] [[William Howard Taft]] and was directed to avoid the inefficiency and corruption that had plagued the French 15 years earlier. On May 6, 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed [[John Findley Wallace]], formerly chief engineer and finally general manager of the [[Illinois Central Railroad]], as chief engineer of the Panama Canal Project. Overwhelmed by the disease-plagued country and forced to use often dilapidated French infrastructure and equipment,{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |p=440}} as well as being frustrated by the overly bureaucratic ICC, Wallace resigned abruptly in June 1905.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |p=457}} The ICC brought on a new chairman, [[Theodore P. Shonts]], and a new chief engineer was appointed, [[John Frank Stevens]], a self-educated engineer who had built the [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern Railroad]].{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=459–462}} Stevens was not a member of the ICC; he increasingly viewed its bureaucracy as a serious hindrance, bypassing the commission and sending requests and demands directly to the Roosevelt administration in Washington, DC. One of Stevens' first achievements in Panama was in building and rebuilding the housing, cafeterias, hotels, water systems, repair shops, warehouses, and other infrastructure needed by the thousands of incoming workers. Stevens began the recruitment effort to entice thousands of workers from the United States and other areas to come to the Canal Zone to work. Workers from the Caribbean—called "[[Afro-Panamanians]]"—came in large numbers and many settled permanently. Stevens tried to provide accommodation in which the workers could work and live in reasonable safety and comfort. He also re-established and enlarged the railway, which was to prove crucial in transporting millions of tons of soil from the cut through the mountains to the dam across the Chagres River. [[File:Roosevelt and the Canal.JPG|thumb|upright|President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] sitting on a Bucyrus steam shovel at Culebra Cut, 1906]] [[File:Panama Canal under construction, 1907.jpg|thumb|upright|Construction work on the [[Gaillard Cut]] is shown in this photograph from 1907.]] Colonel [[William C. Gorgas]] had been appointed chief sanitation officer of the canal construction project in 1904. Gorgas implemented a range of measures to minimize the spread of deadly diseases, particularly [[yellow fever]] and [[malaria]], which had recently been shown to be mosquito-borne following the work of Cuban epidemiologist, [[Carlos Finlay]] and American pathologist, [[Walter Reed]].{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=405–426}} Investment was made in extensive sanitation projects, including city water systems, fumigation of buildings, spraying of insect-breeding areas with oil and larvicide, installation of mosquito netting and window screens, and elimination of stagnant water. Despite opposition from the commission (one member said his ideas were barmy), Gorgas persisted, and when Stevens arrived, he threw his weight behind the project. After two years of extensive work, [[Health measures during the construction of the Panama Canal|the mosquito-spread diseases were nearly eliminated]].{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=466–468}} Despite the monumental effort, about 5,600 workers ended up dead via disease and accidents during the US construction phase of the canal. Besides healthier and far better living conditions for the workers, another benefit given to American citizens working on the Canal was a medal for two years of service. Additional bars were added for each two year period after that. Designed by [[Victor D. Brenner]] and featuring the then-current president they were popularly known as ''The Roosevelt Medal''. A total of 7189 were ultimately issued, with a few people receiving as many as 4 bars.<ref>[https://www.czbrats.com/Builders/roosemedals.htm The Panama Canal Service Medal - The "Junk" Medal]</ref> Certificates are available today.<ref>[https://pcmc.uflib.ufl.edu/roosevelt-medal-holders/ Roosevelt Medal Holders ]</ref> In 1905, a US engineering panel was commissioned to review the canal design, which had not been finalized. In January 1906 the panel, in a majority of eight to five, recommended to President Roosevelt a sea-level canal,<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Panama Canal |volume=20 |page=670}}</ref> as had been attempted by the French and temporarily abandoned by them in 1887 for a ten locks system designed by Philippe Bunau-Varilla, and definitively in 1898 for a lock-and-lake canal designed by the Comité Technique of the Compagnie Nouvelle de Canal de Panama as conceptualized by Adolphe Godin de Lépinay in 1879.<ref>Panama Canal Official Site – https://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910235443/https://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/ |date=September 10, 2021 }} select chapter The French Canal Construction – accessed 9/11/2021</ref> But in 1906 Stevens, who had seen the Chagres in full flood, was summoned to Washington; he declared a sea-level approach to be "an entirely untenable proposition". He argued in favor of a canal using a lock system to raise and lower ships from a large reservoir {{convert|85|ft|m|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} above sea level. This would create both the largest dam (Gatun Dam) and the largest human-made lake (Gatun Lake) in the world at that time. The water to refill the locks would be taken from Gatun Lake by opening and closing enormous gates and valves and letting gravity propel the water from the lake. Gatun Lake would connect to the Pacific through the mountains at the [[Gaillard Cut|Gaillard]] (Culebra) Cut. Unlike Godin de Lépinay with the Congrès International d'Etudes du Canal Interocéanique, Stevens successfully convinced Roosevelt of the necessity and feasibility of this alternative scheme.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=485–489}} The construction of a canal with locks required the excavation of more than {{convert|17|e6cuyd|e6m3|abbr=unit|sigfig=2}} of material over and above the {{convert|30|e6cuyd|e6m3|abbr=unit|sigfig=2}} excavated by the French. As quickly as possible, the Americans replaced or upgraded the old, unusable French equipment with new construction equipment that was designed for a much larger and faster scale of work. 102 large, railroad-mounted [[steam shovel]]s were purchased, 77 from [[Bucyrus-Erie]], and 25 from the [[Marion Power Shovel Company]]. These were joined by enormous steam-powered cranes, giant hydraulic [[rock crusher]]s, [[concrete mixer]]s, [[dredge]]s, and pneumatic power drills, nearly all of which were manufactured by new, extensive machine-building technology developed and built in the United States. The railroad also had to be comprehensively upgraded with heavy-duty, double-tracked rails over most of the line to accommodate new [[rolling stock]]. In many places, the new Gatun Lake flooded over the original rail line, and a new line had to be constructed above Gatun Lake's waterline. Between 1912 and 1914 there was [[Hay–Pauncefote Treaty#Tolls controversy|a controversy about the tolls for the canal]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Coker |first=William S. |date=1968 |title=The Panama Canal Tolls Controversy: A Different Perspective |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1891013 |journal=The Journal of American History |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=555–564 |doi=10.2307/1891013 |jstor=1891013 |issn=0021-8723}}</ref> {{Panorama |image = File:PanamaCanal1913a.jpg |height = 165 |caption = Construction of locks on the Panama Canal, 1913 }} ===Goethals replaces Stevens as chief engineer=== [[File:George W. Goethals cph.3a02121.jpg|thumb|upright|General [[George Washington Goethals]], who completed the canal.]] In 1907, Stevens resigned as chief engineer.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=503–508}} His replacement, appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt, was US Army Major [[George Washington Goethals]] of the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|US Army Corps of Engineers]]. Soon to be promoted to lieutenant colonel and later to general, he was a strong, [[West Point]]-trained leader and civil engineer with experience in canals (unlike Stevens). Goethals directed the work in Panama to a successful conclusion in 1914, two years ahead of the target date of June 10, 1916.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Panama Canal: Writings of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Officers Who Conceived and Built It |url=http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA564251|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408131503/http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA564251|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-04-08|access-date=2023-05-01 |page=1}}</ref> Goethals divided the engineering and excavation work into three divisions: Atlantic, Central, and Pacific. The Atlantic Division, under Major [[William L. Sibert]], was responsible for construction of the massive [[Breakwater (structure)|breakwater]] at the entrance to [[Limon Bay]], the [[Panama Canal Locks|Gatun locks]], and their {{convert|3+1/2|mi|km|adj=on}} approach channel, and the immense Gatun Dam. The Pacific Division, under Sydney B. Williamson (the only civilian member of this high-level team), was similarly responsible for the Pacific {{convert|3|mi|km|adj=on}} breakwater in [[Panama Bay]], the approach channel to the locks, and the [[Panama Canal Locks|Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks]] and their associated dams and reservoirs.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |pp=540–542}} The Central Division, under Major [[David du Bose Gaillard]] of the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]], was assigned one of the most difficult parts: excavating the Culebra Cut through the continental divide to connect Gatun Lake to the Pacific [[Panama Canal locks]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Col. David D.B. Gaillard |url=http://www.czbrats.com/Builders/gaillard.htm |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=www.czbrats.com}}</ref> [[File:Admiralty Chart No 657 Panama Canal and Approaches, Published 1914, New Edition 1915.jpg|thumb|Nautical chart of 1915 showing the canal shortly after completion]] On October 10, 1913, President [[Woodrow Wilson]] sent a signal from the [[White House]] by [[Electrical telegraph|telegraph]] which triggered the explosion that destroyed the Gamboa Dike. This flooded the Culebra Cut, thereby joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Panama Canal.<ref>{{cite news|title=Wilson blows up last big barrier in Panama Canal|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|pages=1|location=Chicago|date=1913-10-11|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1913/10/11/page/1/article/wilson-blows-up-last-big-barrier-in-panama-canal|access-date=2015-11-24|archive-date=November 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125183109/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1913/10/11/page/1/article/wilson-blows-up-last-big-barrier-in-panama-canal/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Alexandre La Valley'' (a floating crane built by [[Lobnitz|Lobnitz & Company]] and launched in 1887) was the first self-propelled vessel to transit the canal from ocean to ocean. This vessel crossed the canal from the Atlantic in stages during construction, finally reaching the Pacific on January 7, 1914.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |p=607}} SS ''Cristobal'' (a cargo and passenger ship built by [[Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard|Maryland Steel]], and launched in 1902 as SS ''Tremont'') on August 3, 1914, was the first ship to transit the canal from ocean to ocean.{{sfn |McCullough |1977 |p=609}} The construction of the canal was completed in 1914, 401 years after Panama was first crossed overland by the Europeans in [[Vasco Núñez de Balboa]]'s party of [[conquistador]]es. The United States spent almost $500 million (roughly equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|0.5|1914|r=1}} billion in {{Inflation-year|US}}){{Inflation-fn|US}} to finish the project. This was by far the largest American engineering project to date. The canal was formally opened on August 15, 1914, with the passage of the [[cargo ship]] {{SS|Ancon|1901|6}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/index.html|title=Read our history: American Canal Construction|publisher=Panama Canal Authority|access-date=2007-09-03|archive-date=December 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215060157/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 caused a [[Economic history of Chile|severe drop in traffic]] along [[Chile]]an ports due to shifts in maritime trade routes,<ref name=millan>{{Citation| last1= John Lawrence| first1= Rector| title= The History of Chile| year= 2005| page= xxvi}}</ref><ref name=Martinicfabril>{{Citation| last1= Martinic Beros| first1= Mateo| author-link1= Mateo Martinic| title= La actividad industrial en Magallanes entre 1890 y mediados del siglo XX| journal= [[Historia (history of the Americas journal)|Historia]]| volume= 34| year= 2001| url= http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=s0717-71942001003400004| access-date= July 4, 2014| archive-date= July 2, 2017| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170702001619/http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=s0717-71942001003400004| url-status= live}}</ref><ref name=Figueroa>{{cite journal |author1=Figueroa, Victor |author2=Gayoso, Jorge |author3=Oyarzun, Edgardo |author4=Planas, Lenia |url=http://mingaonline.uach.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-64281998000200006&lng=es&nrm=iso |title=Investigación aplicada sobre Geografía Urbana: Un caso práctico en la ciudad de Valdivia |language=es |trans-title=Applied research on Urban Geography: A practical case in the city of Valdivia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025010536/http://mingaonline.uach.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-64281998000200006&lng=es&nrm=iso |archive-date=2014-10-25 |journal=Gestión Turistica |issue=3 |pages=107–148 |doi=10.4206/gest.tur.1998.n3-06 |publisher=[[UACh]]|year=1998 }}</ref> despite the closure of the canal for nearly seven months after a landslide in the Culebra Cut on September 18, 1915.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Century of Progress: A Century of Slides |url=https://panama.lindahall.org/century-progress/ |website=The Land Divided, The World United |publisher=Linda Hall Library |access-date=November 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525155334/https://panama.lindahall.org/century-progress/ |archive-date=May 25, 2022 |location=Kansa City, Missouri}}</ref> The [[Patagonian sheep farming boom|burgeoning sheep farming business in southern Patagonia]] suffered a significant setback by the change in trade routes,<ref name=Economiaovejera>{{Citation | url = http://www.memoriachilena.cl/602/w3-article-784.html | title = La economía ovejera en Magallanes (1876–1930) | work = [[Memoria Chilena]] | language = es | access-date = June 30, 2013 | publisher = [[Biblioteca Nacional de Chile]] | archive-date = October 19, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131019204659/http://www.memoriachilena.cl/602/w3-article-784.html | url-status = live }}</ref> as did the economy of the [[Falkland Islands]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Falkland Islands as a 'Strategic Gateway'|journal=The RUSI Journal|last=Dodds|first=Klaus|date=2012-12-09|volume=157|pages=8–25|issue=6|doi=10.1080/03071847.2012.750882|s2cid=154575728}}</ref> Throughout this time, [[Ernest "Red" Hallen]] was hired by the [[Isthmian Canal Commission]] to document the progress of the work. In 1914, [[steam shovel]]s from the Panama Canal were purchased and put to use in [[Chuquicamata]] copper mine of northern Chile.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mch.cl/reportajes/una-mina-centenaria/# |title=Una mina centenaria |date=2015-04-06 |access-date=2022-07-02 |website=mch.cl |last=Barros M. |first=María Celia |language=Spanish}}</ref> <gallery mode="packed" heights="125px"> MarioModel90 1908.jpg|A Marion [[steam shovel]] excavating the Panama Canal in 1908 Panama Canal Lock Forms.jpeg|The Panama Canal locks under construction in 1910 SS Ancon entering west chamber cph.3b17471u.jpg|The first ship to transit the canal at the formal opening, SS ''Ancon'', passes through on 15 August 1914 Spanish laborers on Panama Canal in early 1900s.jpg|Spanish laborers working on the Panama Canal in early 1900s </gallery> ===Later developments=== {{See also|#Third set of locks project (expansion)}} [[File:Missouri panama canal.jpg|thumb|upright|{{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}}, an {{sclass|Iowa|battleship|2}}, passes through the canal in 1945. The 108' 2" (32.96 m) beams of the ''Iowas'' and preceding {{sclass|South Dakota|battleship (1939)|4}} were the largest ever to transit the Canal.]] By the 1930s, water supply became an issue for the canal, prompting construction of the [[Madden Dam]] across the Chagres River above Gatun Lake. Completed in 1935, the dam created Madden Lake (later Alajuela Lake), which provides additional water storage for the canal.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ikDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA25 |title=Panama Dam to Aid Canal Traffic |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=January 1930 |page=25 |publisher=Bonnier Corporation |access-date=February 27, 2016 |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728094135/https://books.google.com/books?id=2ikDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA25 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1939, construction began on a further major improvement: a new set of locks large enough to carry the larger warships that the United States was building at the time and planned to continue building. The work proceeded for several years, and significant excavation was carried out on the new approach channels, but the project was canceled after World War II.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.czbrats.com/Articles/3rdlocks/3rdlocks.htm|title=Enlarging the Panama Canal|work=czbrats.com|access-date=January 7, 2006|archive-date=April 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405193423/http://czbrats.com/Articles/3rdlocks/3rdlocks.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.czimages.com/CZMemories/thirdlocks/tcindex.htm|title=Presentation on the Third Locks Project – Panama Canal Zone|work=czimages.com|access-date=January 7, 2006|archive-date=February 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214222237/http://www.czimages.com/CZMemories/thirdlocks/tcindex.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> After World War II, US control of the canal and the Canal Zone surrounding it became contentious; relations between Panama and the United States became increasingly tense. Many Panamanians felt that the Zone rightfully belonged to Panama; student protests were met by the fencing-in of the zone and an increased military presence there.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Martyrs of 1964 |url=http://www.czbrats.com/Jackson/martyrs/martyrs.htm |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=www.czbrats.com}}</ref> Demands for the United States to hand over the canal to Panama increased after the [[Suez Crisis]] in 1956, when the United States used financial and diplomatic pressure to force France and the UK to abandon their attempt to retake control of the [[Suez Canal]], previously nationalized by the [[Nasser]] regime in Egypt. Panamanian unrest culminated in riots on [[Martyrs' Day (Panama)|Martyr's Day]], January 9, 1964, when about 20 Panamanians and 3–5 US soldiers were killed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MILESTONES: 1953–1960 |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/suez}}</ref> {{listen |filename=Carter Panama Canal speech.ogg |title=Statement on the Panama Canal Treaty Signing |description=President Jimmy Carter's speech upon signing the Panama Canal treaty, September 7, 1977}} A decade later, in 1974, negotiations toward a settlement began and resulted in the [[Torrijos–Carter Treaties]]. On September 7, 1977, the treaty was signed by President of the United States [[Jimmy Carter]] and [[Omar Torrijos]], ''de facto'' leader of Panama. This mobilized the process of granting the Panamanians free control of the canal so long as Panama signed a treaty guaranteeing the permanent neutrality of the canal. The treaty led to full Panamanian control effective at noon on December 31, 1999, and the [[Panama Canal Authority|Panama Canal Authority (ACP)]] assumed command of the waterway. The Panama Canal remains one of the chief revenue sources for Panama.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathleen-peddicord/panama-canal-expansion_b_10773740.html | title=Here's Why The Panama Canal Expansion Has Everyone Excited | date=2016-07-11 | website=TheHuffingtonPost.com | quote=The Canal previously accounted for about 15 percent of the country's GDP | access-date=February 20, 2020 | archive-date=September 28, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928000817/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathleen-peddicord/panama-canal-expansion_b_10773740.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine | url=http://www.economist.com/node/15014282 | title=A plan to unlock prosperity | date=Dec 3, 2009 | magazine=The Economist | access-date=April 17, 2017 | archive-date=July 8, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708071113/http://www.economist.com/node/15014282 | url-status=live }}</ref> Before this handover, the government of Panama held an international bid to negotiate a 25-year contract for operation of the [[container terminal|container shipping ports]] located at the canal's Atlantic and Pacific outlets. The contract was not affiliated with the ACP or Panama Canal operations and was won by the firm [[Hutchison Whampoa]], a Hong Kong–based shipping interest owned by [[Li Ka-shing]].<ref>{{Cite news|first=Peter|last= Wonacott |date=1999-10-15 |title=Hutchison Unit's Panama Canal Contract Is Targeted by a U.S. Senate Committee |language=en-US |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB93992854168999852 |access-date=2022-03-12 |issn=0099-9660}}</ref> ==Canal== ===Layout=== {{Panama Canal map}} [[File:Panama Canal - Pacific Side Entrance.jpg|thumb|Pacific Side entrance]] [[File:Administration Building, Panama Canal.jpg|thumb|Administration Building]] While globally the Atlantic Ocean is east of the isthmus and the Pacific is west, the general direction of the canal passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific is from northwest to southeast, because of the shape of the isthmus at the point the canal occupies. The [[Bridge of the Americas]] ({{lang-es|Puente de las Américas}}) at the Pacific side is about a third of a degree east of the [[Colón, Panama|Colón]] end on the Atlantic side.<ref name="acptraffic">{{cite web|url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/maritime/reports/table01.pdf |title=Panama Canal Traffic—Fiscal Years 2002–2004 |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=2007-09-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051201144112/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/maritime/reports/table01.pdf |archive-date=2005-12-01 }}</ref> Still, in formal nautical communications, the simplified directions "southbound" and "northbound" are used. The canal consists of [[reservoir|artificial lakes]], several improved and artificial channels, and three sets of [[canal lock|locks]]. An additional artificial lake, Alajuela Lake (known during the American era as Madden Lake), acts as a reservoir for the canal. The layout of the canal as seen by a ship passing from the Atlantic to the Pacific is:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://historicals.ncd.noaa.gov/historicals/histmap.asp |title=Historical Map & Chart Project |access-date=2007-09-03 |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070905231130/http://historicals.ncd.noaa.gov/historicals/histmap.asp |archive-date=2007-09-05 }}</ref> <!-- These distances are measured as accurately as I can from a 1940 nautical chart of the canal—U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey no. 955, May 1940. See the reference above. ~~~~ --> * From the formal marking line of the Atlantic Entrance, one enters Limón Bay (Bahía Limón), a large natural harbor. The entrance runs {{convert|5+1/2|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}}. It provides a deepwater port ([[Cristóbal, Colón|Cristóbal]]), with facilities like multimodal cargo exchange (to and from train) and the [[Colón Free Trade Zone]] (a [[free port]]). * A {{convert|3.2|km|mi|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} channel forms the approach to the locks from the Atlantic side. * The Gatun Locks, a three-stage flight of locks {{convert|1+1/4|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} long, lifts ships to the Gatun Lake level, some {{convert|87|ft|m|abbr=on|sigfig=2|order=flip}} above sea level. * Gatun Lake, an artificial lake formed by the building of the Gatun Dam, carries vessels {{convert|15|mi|km|abbr=on|sigfig=2|order=flip}} across the isthmus. It is the summit canal stretch, fed by the Gatun River and emptied by basic lock operations. * From the lake, the Chagres River, a natural waterway enhanced by the damming of Gatun Lake, runs about {{convert|5+1/4|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}}. Here the upper Chagres River feeds the high-level-canal stretch. * The [[Culebra Cut]] slices {{convert|7+3/4|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} through the mountain ridge, crosses the [[continental divide]] and passes under the [[Centennial Bridge, Panama|Centennial Bridge]]. * The single-stage Pedro Miguel Lock, which is {{convert|7/8|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} long, is the first part of the descent with a lift of {{convert|31|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}}. * The artificial [[Miraflores Lake]] {{convert|1+1/8|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} long, and {{convert|54|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]]. * The two-stage [[Miraflores (Panama)|Miraflores]] Locks is {{convert|1+1/8|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} long, with a total descent of {{convert|54|ft|m|abbr=on|sigfig=2|order=flip}} at mid-tide. * From the Miraflores Locks one reaches [[Balboa, Panama|Balboa]] harbor, again with multimodal exchange provision (here the railway meets the shipping route again). Nearby is [[Panama City]]. * From this harbor an entrance/exit channel leads to the Pacific Ocean ([[Gulf of Panama]]), {{convert|8+1/4|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} from the Miraflores Locks, passing under the [[Bridge of the Americas]]. Thus, the total length of the canal is {{convert|50|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}}. In 2017 it took ships an average of 11.38 hours to pass between the canal's two outer locks.<ref name="ACP">{{cite web|url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/reporte-anual/2017-AnnualReport.pdf |title=Annual Report 2017 |website=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=2021-04-02 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210403001241/https://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/reporte-anual/2017-AnnualReport.pdf |archive-date=2021-04-03}}</ref> ===Navigation=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Point ! [[Geographic coordinate system|Coordinates]]<br />(links to map & photo sources)<br />{{GeoGroup|section=Layout}} ! Notes |- | Atlantic Entrance | {{Coord|9.38743|N|79.91863|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Atlantic Entrance}} || |- | Gatún Locks | {{Coord|9.27215|N|79.92266|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Gatún Locks}} || |- | Trinidad Turn | {{Coord|9.20996|N|79.92408|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Trinidad Turn}} | In "The Cut" |- | Bohío Turn | {{Coord|9.17831|N|79.86667|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Bohío Turn}} | In "The Cut" |- | Orchid Turn | {{Coord|9.18406|N|79.84513|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Orchid Turn}} | In "The Cut" |- | Frijoles Turn | {{Coord|9.15904|N|79.81362|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Frijoles Turn}} | In "The Cut" |- | Barbacoa Turn | {{Coord|9.12053|N|79.80395|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Barbacoa Turn}} | In "The Cut" |- | Mamei Turn | {{Coord|9.11161|N|79.76856|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Mamei Turn}} | In "The Cut" |- | Gamboa Reach | {{Coord|9.11774|N|79.72257|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Gamboa Reach}} || |- | Bas Obispo Reach | {{Coord|9.09621|N|79.68446|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Bas Obispo Reach}} || |- | Las Cascadas Reach | {{Coord|9.07675|N|79.67492|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Las Cascadas Reach}} || |- | Empire Reach | {{Coord|9.06104|N|79.66309|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Empire Reach}} || |- | Culebra Reach | {{Coord|9.04745|N|79.65017|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Culebra Reach}} || |- | Cucaracha Reach | {{Coord|9.03371|N|79.63736|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Cucaracha Reach}} || |- | Paraiso Reach | {{Coord|9.02573|N|79.62492|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Paraiso Reach}} || |- | Pedro Miguel Locks | {{Coord|9.01698|N|79.61281|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Pedro Miguel Locks}} || |- | Miraflores Lake | {{Coord|9.00741|N|79.60254|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Miraflores Lake}} || |- | Miraflores Locks | {{Coord|8.99679|N|79.59182|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Miraflores Locks}} || |- | Balboa Reach | {{Coord|8.97281|N|79.57771|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Balboa Reach}} || |- | Pacific Entrance | {{Coord|8.88846|N|79.52145|W|region:PA_type:landmark|name=Pacific Entrance}} || |} ===Gatun Lake=== [[File:Gatun Lake.jpg|thumb|[[Gatun Lake]] provides the water used to raise and lower vessels in the Canal, gravity fed into each set of locks]] Created in 1913 by damming the [[Chagres River]], the [[Gatun Lake]] is a key part of the Panama Canal, providing the millions of liters of water necessary to operate its locks each time a ship passes through. At time of formation, Gatun Lake was the largest human-made lake in the world. ===Lock size=== {{Main|Panama Canal locks}}Because of the importance of the canal to international trade, many ships are built to the maximum size allowed.[[File:Gatun lock gate.JPG|thumb|right|upright|Miter [[Lock (water transport)|lock]] gate at Gatún]] For its first century, the width and length of ships that may transit the canal was limited by the Pedro Miguel Locks; their [[Draft (hull)|draft]] by the canal's minimum {{convert|41.2|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} depth; and their height by the main span of the Bridge of the Americas at Balboa. Ships built to those limits are known as [[Panamax]] vessels. A Panamax cargo ship typically has a [[deadweight tonnage]] (DWT) of 65,000–80,000 [[tonnes|tons]], but its actual cargo is restricted to about 52,500 tons because of the canal's [[Draft (hull)|draft]] restrictions within the canal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lr.org/Images/30%20ship%20sizes_tcm155-173543.pdf |title=Infosheet No. 30: Modern ship size definitions |date=26 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224003817/http://www.lr.org/Images/30%20ship%20sizes_tcm155-173543.pdf |archive-date=2012-02-24 |work=Lloyd's Register}}</ref> The longest ship ever to transit the canal was the ''San Juan Prospector'' (now ''Marcona Prospector''), an [[ore-bulk-oil carrier]] that is {{convert|973|ft|m|2|abbr=on|order=flip}} long with a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|106|ft|m|2|abbr=on|order=flip}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Professional Resources in Science and Mathematics (PRISM) |url=https://www.montclair.edu/prism/ |access-date=2023-05-01 |language=en-US}}</ref> Initially the locks at Gatun were designed to be {{convert|28.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide. In 1908, the [[United States Navy]] requested that the width be increased to at least {{convert|36|m|ft|abbr=on}} to allow the passage of large warships. A compromise was made and the locks were built {{convert|33.53|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide. Each lock is {{convert|320|m|ft|abbr=on}} long, with the walls ranging in thickness from {{convert|15|m|ft|abbr=on}} at the base to {{convert|3|m|ft|abbr=on}} at the top. The central wall between the parallel locks at Gatun is {{convert|18|m|ft|abbr=on}} thick and over {{convert|24|m|ft|abbr=on}} high. The steel lock gates measure an average of {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on}} thick, {{convert|19.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide, and {{convert|20|m|ft|abbr=on}} high.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eclipse.co.uk/~sl5763/panama.htm |title=The Panama Canal |access-date=2007-10-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515050735/http://www.eclipse.co.uk/~sl5763/panama.htm |archive-date=May 15, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Panama Canal pilots were initially unprepared to handle the flight decks of [[aircraft carrier]]s, which protrude beyond the hull on either side of the ship. When {{USS|Saratoga|CV-3|6}} made her first trip through the Gatun Locks in 1928, the ship knocked over all the concrete lamp posts along the canal.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pride |first=Alfred M. |year=1986 |title=Pilots, Man Your Planes |journal=Proceedings |volume=Supplement |issue=April |pages=28–35 |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]] }}</ref> In 2016, a [[Panama Canal expansion project|decade-long expansion project]] created larger locks, allowing bigger ships to transit through deeper and wider channels.<ref name="AP 2016" /> The allowed dimensions of ships using these locks increased by 25 percent in length, 51 percent in beam, and 26 percent in draft, as defined by [[Panamax#New Panamax|Neopanamax]] metrics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/common/maritime/advisories/2009/a-02-2009.pdf |title=New Panamax publication by ACP |date=November 2006 |access-date=2010-10-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506230338/http://www.pancanal.com/common/maritime/advisories/2009/a-02-2009.pdf |archive-date=May 6, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ===Tolls=== [[File:Ship passing through Panama Canal 01.jpg|right|thumb|[[Roll-on/roll-off]] ships, such as this one at [[Miraflores (Panama)|Miraflores locks]], are among the largest ships to pass through the canal.]] As with a [[toll road]], vessels transiting the canal must pay tolls. Tolls for the canal are set by the [[Panama Canal Authority]] and are based on vessel type, size, and the type of cargo.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/tariff/index.html |title=Marine Tariff |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=June 3, 2014 |archive-date=August 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802022239/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/tariff/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> For [[container ship]]s, the toll is assessed on the ship's capacity expressed in [[twenty-foot equivalent unit]]s (TEUs), one TEU being the size of a standard [[intermodal shipping container]]. Effective April 1, 2016, this toll went from US$74 per loaded container to $60 per TEU capacity plus $30 per loaded container for a potential $90 per TEU when the ship is full. A Panamax container ship may carry up to {{TEU|4,400}}. The toll is calculated differently for passenger ships and for container ships carrying no cargo ("in ballast"). {{As of|2016|04|01|df=US}}, the ballast rate is US$60, down from US$65.60 per TEU. Passenger vessels in excess of 30,000 tons (PC/UMS) pay a rate based on the number of berths, that is, the number of passengers that can be accommodated in permanent beds. Since April 1, 2016, the per-berth charge is $111 for unoccupied berths and $138 for occupied berths in the Panamax locks. Starting in 2007, this fee has greatly increased the tolls for such ships.<ref>Panama Canal Toll Table http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/tariff/1010-0000-Rev20160414.pdf{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Passenger vessels of less than 30,000 tons or less than 33 tons per passenger are charged according to the same per-ton schedule as are freighters. Almost all major cruise ships have more than 33 tons per passenger; the rule of thumb for cruise line comfort is generally given as a minimum of 40 tons per passenger. Most other types of vessels pay a toll per [[tonnage|PC/UMS net ton]], in which one "ton" is actually a volume of {{convert|100|cuft|m3|2}}. (The calculation of [[tonnage]] for commercial vessels is quite complex.) {{As of|2016|alt=As of fiscal year 2016}}, this toll is US$5.25 per ton for the first 10,000 tons, US$5.14 per ton for the next 10,000 tons, and US$5.06 per ton thereafter. As with container ships, reduced tolls are charged for freight ships "in ballast", $4.19, $4.12, $4.05 respectively. On April 1, 2016, a more complicated toll system was introduced, having the neopanamax locks at a higher rate in some cases, natural gas transport as a new separate category and other changes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/tariff/index.html|title=Maritime Services - PanCanal.com|website=www.pancanal.com|access-date=June 3, 2014|archive-date=August 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802022239/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/tariff/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As of October 1, 2017, there are modified tolls and categories of tolls in effect.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/peajes/pdf/2018/2018-ApprovedTolls.pdf |website=[[Panama Canal Authority]] |title=Toll Tariffs Approved By Cabinet Council And Published On The Official Gazzette. Implementation: October 1, 2017 (Fy 2018) |access-date=September 26, 2017 |archive-date=September 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927052651/http://www.pancanal.com/peajes/pdf/2018/2018-ApprovedTolls.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Small (less than 125 ft) vessels up to 583 PC/UMS net tons when carrying passengers or cargo, or up to 735 PC/UMS net tons when in ballast, or up to 1,048 fully loaded displacement tons, are assessed minimum tolls based upon their [[length overall]], according to the following table (as of April 29, 2015): {| class="wikitable" |- ! Length of vessel ! Toll |- | Up to {{convert|15.240|m|ft|0|sp=us}} || US$800 |- | From {{convert|15.240|to|24.384|m|ft|0|sp=us}} || US$1,300 |- | From {{convert|24.384|to|30.480|m|ft|0|sp=us}} || US$2,000 |- | More than {{convert|30.480|m|ft|0|sp=us}} || US$3,200 |- | INTRA MARITIME CLUSTER – Local Tourism<br />More than {{convert|24.384|m|ft|0|sp=us}} || US$2,000<br />plus $72/TEU |} Morgan Adams of Los Angeles, California, holds the distinction of paying the first toll received by the U.S. government for the use of the Panama Canal by a pleasure boat. His boat ''Lasata'' passed through the Zone on August 14, 1914. The crossing occurred during a {{convert|6000|mi|km|order=flip|sp=us|sigfig=1|abbr=off|adj=on}} sea voyage from Jacksonville, Florida, to Los Angeles in 1914.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-11 |title=The Panama Canal - All You Need to Know |url=https://panamapassion.com/the-panama-canal-all-you-need-to-know/ |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=Panama Passion |language=en-US}}</ref> The most expensive regular toll for canal passage to date was charged on April 14, 2010, to the cruise ship ''[[Norwegian Pearl]],'' which paid US$375,600.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://traveltips.usatoday.com/panama-canal-61272.html|date=<!-- none given -->|access-date=2012-08-03|title=US Today Travel: Panama Canal Facts|work=USA Today|archive-date=February 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217025241/http://traveltips.usatoday.com/panama-canal-61272.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2008-06-24|title=ACP rectifica récord en pago de peaje|publisher=La Prensa|url=http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2008/06/24/hoy/negocios/1416962.html|access-date=2009-08-08|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090816182550/http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2008/06/24/hoy/negocios/1416962.html|archive-date=August 16, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> The average toll is around US$54,000. The highest fee for priority passage charged through the [[Congestion pricing#Panama Canal booking system and auction|Transit Slot Auction System]] was US$220,300, paid on August 24, 2006, by the Panamax [[Tanker (ship)|tanker]] ''Erikoussa'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ediciones.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2007/04/24/hoy/negocios/960466.html|title=''Récord en pago de peajes y reserva''|work=La Prensa|publisher=Ediciones.prensa.com|date=2007-04-24|access-date=2009-07-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006110958/http://ediciones.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2007/04/24/hoy/negocios/960466.html|archive-date=October 6, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> bypassing a 90-ship queue waiting for the end of maintenance work on the [[Panama Canal Locks|Gatun Locks]], and thus avoiding a seven-day delay. The normal fee would have been just US$13,430.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2006/08/25/hoy/negocios/714407.html |title=''Cupo de subasta del Canal alcanza récord''. La Prensa. Sección Economía & Negocios. Edición 25 August 2006 in Spanish |publisher=Mensual.prensa.com |access-date=2009-07-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803154550/http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2006/08/25/hoy/negocios/714407.html |archive-date= 3 August 2009 }}</ref> The lowest toll ever paid was 36 cents ({{Inflation|US|0.36|1928|r=2|fmt=eq}}), by American [[Richard Halliburton]] who swam the Panama Canal in 1928.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/canal-faqs/tolls.html|title=About ACP - PanCanal.com|publisher=Panama Canal Authority|access-date=8 October 2014|archive-date=November 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127210411/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/canal-faqs/tolls.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ==Issues leading to expansion== {{Panorama | image = File:Panama canal panoramic view from the top of Ancon hill.jpg | height = 145 | alt = Panorama of Pacific entrance of the canal. | caption = Panorama of Pacific entrance of the canal. Left: Pacific Ocean and Puente de las Americas (Bridge of Pan-American Highway); far right: Miraflores locks. }} ===Efficiency and maintenance=== Opponents to the 1977 [[Torrijos-Carter Treaties]] feared that efficiency and maintenance would suffer following the U.S. withdrawal from the Panama Canal Zone; however, this has been proven not to be the case. In 2004, it was reported that canal operations, capitalizing on practices developed during the American administration, were improving under Panamanian control.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/panama.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120913044023/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/panama.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-09-13 |title=Panama Rises |journal=Smithsonian Magazine |date=March 2004 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |first=Bob |last=Cullen |access-date=2012-04-30 }}</ref> Canal Waters Time (CWT), the average time it takes a vessel to navigate the canal, including waiting time, is a key measure of efficiency; in the first decade of the 2000s, it ranged between 20 and 30 hours, according to the ACP. The accident rate has also not changed appreciably in the past decade, varying between 10 and 30 accidents each year from about 14,000 total annual transits.<ref name=annualreport2005>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/common/general/reports/informe-anual-2005.pdf |title=ACP 2005 Annual Report |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |year=2005 |access-date=2010-07-09 |archive-date=May 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506181207/http://www.pancanal.com/common/general/reports/informe-anual-2005.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=metrics2008>{{Cite news |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2008/10/24/pr300.html |title=News—PanCanal.com; Panama Canal Authority Announces Fiscal Year 2008 Metrics |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |date=2008-10-24 |access-date=2010-07-09 |archive-date=May 7, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507150245/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2008/10/24/pr300.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=metrics2009>{{Cite news |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2009/10/30/pr366.html |title=News—PanCanal.com; Panama Canal Authority Announces Fiscal Year 2009 Metrics |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |date=2009-10-30 |access-date=2010-07-09 |archive-date=June 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611095934/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2009/10/30/pr366.html |url-status=live }}</ref> An official accident is one in which a formal investigation is requested and conducted. Increasing volumes of imports from Asia, which previously landed on US West Coast ports, are now passing through the canal to the American East Coast.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.colliers.com/Content/Attachments/Corporate/Services/NewYorkTimes112204.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050307191412/http://colliers.com/Content/Attachments/Corporate/Services/NewYorkTimes112204.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2005-03-07|title=New York Port Hums Again, With Asian Trade|first=Eric|last=Lipton|work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2004-11-22}}</ref> The total number of ocean-going transits increased from 11,725 in 2003 to 13,233 in 2007, falling to 12,855 in 2009. (The canal's fiscal year runs from October through September.)<ref name="annualreport2009">{{cite web|url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/reporte-anual/2009/pdf/InformePDFingles.pdf|title=ACP 2009 Annual Report|publisher=Panama Canal Authority|year=2009|access-date=2010-07-09|archive-date=November 3, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103054620/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/reporte-anual/2009/pdf/InformePDFingles.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> This has been coupled with a steady rise in average ship size and in the numbers of Panamax vessels passing through the canal, so that the total tonnage carried rose from 227.9 million [[tonnage|PC/UMS tons]] in fiscal year 1999 to a then record high of 312.9 million tons in 2007, and falling to 299.1 million tons in 2009.<ref name="acptraffic" /><ref name="annualreport2009" /> Tonnage for fiscal 2013, 2014 and 2015 was 320.6, 326.8 and 340.8 million PC/UMS tons carried on 13,660, 13,481 and 13,874 transits respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/transit-stats/2015/Table01.pdf|title=Panama Canal Traffic—Fiscal Years 2013 through 2015 |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160719152021/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/transit-stats/2015/Table01.pdf|archive-date=2016-07-19}}</ref> In the first decade after the transfer to Panamanian control, the [[Panama Canal Authority]] (ACP) invested nearly US$1 billion in widening and modernizing the canal, with the aim of increasing capacity by 20 percent.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/panama.canal/stories/operation/|title=Transfer heavy on symbolism, light on change|first=Steve|last=Nettleton |publisher=CNN Interactive|year=2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218155312/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/panama.canal/stories/operation/|archive-date=December 18, 2008}}</ref> The ACP cites a number of major improvements, including the widening and straightening of the Culebra Cut to reduce restrictions on passing vessels, the deepening of the navigational channel in Gatun Lake to reduce draft restrictions and improve water supply, and the deepening of the Atlantic and Pacific entrances to the canal. This is supported by new equipment, such as a new drill barge and suction dredger, and an increase of the [[Tugboat|tug boat]] fleet by 20 percent. In addition, improvements have been made to the canal's operating machinery, including an increased and improved tug locomotive fleet, the replacement of more than {{convert|16|km|0|abbr=on}} of locomotive track, and new lock machinery controls. Improvements have been made to the traffic management system to allow more efficient control over ships in the canal.<ref>{{cite web|title=9 Facts about the Panama Canal Expansion – Infographic |url=http://www.mercatrade.com/blog/9-facts-about-the-panama-canal-expansion/ |publisher=Mercatrade |access-date=28 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020083517/http://www.mercatrade.com/blog/9-facts-about-the-panama-canal-expansion/ |archive-date=20 October 2014 }}</ref> In December 2010, record-breaking rains caused a 17-hour closure of the canal; this was the first closure since the [[U.S. invasion of Panama]] in 1989.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11953800|access-date=2010-12-13|title=Panama Canal reopens after temporary closure|work=BBC News|date=9 December 2010|archive-date=October 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017113304/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11953800|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5izSSaRRPlqlKrEgImAAMgZtqhsdw?docId=N0087151292030740345A |access-date=2010-12-12|title=The Press Association: Panama flooding displaces thousands|date=2010-12-12}}</ref> The rains also caused an access road to the Centenario Bridge to collapse.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://laestrella.com.pa/mensual/2010/12/12/contenido/18225705.asp |access-date=2010-12-13 |title=NOTICIAS PANAMÁ—PERIÓDICO LA ESTRELLA ONLINE: Gobierno abrirá parcialmente Puente Centenario; Corredores serán gratis [Al Minuto] |date=2010-12-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216063033/http://www.laestrella.com.pa/mensual/2010/12/12/contenido/18225705.asp |archive-date=2010-12-16 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=151684|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501024710/http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=151684|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-05-01|access-date=2012-07-08|title=Rain Causes Panama Canal Bridge To Collapse|publisher=digtriad.com|date=2010-12-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.cri.cn/6966/2010/12/11/2021s609648.htm|access-date=2010-12-13|title=Entrance to Panama Canal Bridge Closed due to Rain Damage|date=2010-12-13|archive-date=December 15, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215200209/http://english.cri.cn/6966/2010/12/11/2021s609648.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsroompanama.com/panama/2073-aftermath-of-panama-flooding-hits-transport-and-finances-rain-continues.html |access-date=2010-12-13 |title=Aftermath of Panama flooding hits transport and finances—rain continues |date=2010-12-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216060538/http://www.newsroompanama.com/panama/2073-aftermath-of-panama-flooding-hits-transport-and-finances-rain-continues.html |archive-date=2010-12-16 }}</ref> ===Capacity=== The canal handles more vessel traffic than had ever been envisioned by its builders. In 1934 it was estimated that the maximum capacity of the canal would be around 80 million tons per year;<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.czimages.com/CZMemories/thirdlocks/tlpage3.htm |title=The Land Divided—A History of the Panama Canal and other Isthmian Canal Projects |first=Gerstle |last=Mack |year=1944 |access-date=January 7, 2006 |archive-date=May 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501112749/http://www.czimages.com/CZMemories/thirdlocks/tlpage3.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> as noted above, canal traffic in 2015 reached 340.8 million tons of shipping. To improve capacity, a number of improvements have been made to maximize the use of the locking system:<ref name="3rdLockProposal"> {{cite web |url=http://www.acp.gob.pa/eng/plan/documentos/propuesta/acp-expansion-proposal.pdf |title=Proposal for the Expansion of the Panama Canal |date=24 April 2006 |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721055325/http://www.acp.gob.pa/eng/plan/documentos/propuesta/acp-expansion-proposal.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-21 |page=45}} </ref> * Implementation of an enhanced locks lighting system; * Construction of two tie-up stations in Culebra Cut; * Widening Culebra Cut from {{convert|192|to|218|m|ft|sp=us}}; * Improvements to the tugboat fleet; * Implementation of the carousel lockage system in Gatun locks; * Development of an improved vessel scheduling system; * Deepening of Gatun Lake navigational channels from {{convert|10.4|to|11.3|m|ft|sp=us}} PLD; * Modification of all locks structures to allow an additional draft of about {{convert|1|ft|m|sp=us|order=flip}}; * Deepening of the Pacific and Atlantic entrances; * Construction of a new spillway in Gatun, for flood control. These improvements enlarged the capacity from 300 million PCUMS (2008) to 340 PCUMS (2012). These improvements were started before the new locks project, and are complementary to it. ===Competition=== [[File:Panama_canal_lock_sizes.png|upright=1.5|thumb|right|Maximum ship sizes for the Panama and Suez canals<ref>{{cite web |title=Panama Canal expansion will allow transit of larger ships with greater volumes |date=September 17, 2014 |url=https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=18011 |work=Today in Energy |publisher=[[Energy Information Administration|EIA]] |access-date=2019-04-25 |archive-date=April 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425190436/https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php%3Fid%3D18011 |url-status=live }}</ref>]] The canal faces increasing competition from other quarters. Because canal tolls have risen as ships have become larger, some critics<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_13/issue_06/business_03.html |title=Shipping industry complains about PanCanal toll hikes |first=Eric |last=Jackson |year=2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418214654/http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_13/issue_06/business_03.html |archive-date=2010-04-18 }}</ref> have suggested that the Suez Canal is now a viable alternative for cargo between Asia and the US East Coast.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-11/maersk-line-to-dump-panama-canal-for-suez-as-ships-get-bigger.html |title=Maersk Line to Dump Panama Canal for Suez as Ships Get Bigger |website=[[Bloomberg News]] |date=2013-05-11 |access-date=2013-12-24 |archive-date=March 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310235704/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-11/maersk-line-to-dump-panama-canal-for-suez-as-ships-get-bigger.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Panama Canal, however, continues to serve more than 144 of the world's trade routes and the majority of canal traffic comes from the "all-water route" from Asia to the US East and Gulf Coasts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft Word - Panama_Canal_Phase_I_Report_-_20Nov2013.docx |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-TD11-PURL-gpo49499/pdf/GOVPUB-TD11-PURL-gpo49499.pdf}}</ref> An alternative route through [[Nicaragua]] and [[Lake Nicaragua]] has been proposed. On June 15, 2013, Nicaragua awarded the Hong Kong-based [[HKND Group]] a 50-year concession to develop a [[Nicaragua Canal|canal through the country]].<ref>{{cite news|last=De Cordoba|first=Jose|title=Nicaragua Revives Its Canal Dream|url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323734304578543432234604100|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=June 13, 2013|access-date=January 10, 2022|archive-date=November 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111022158/http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323734304578543432234604100|url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2018, analysts widely viewed the project as defunct,<ref name=cancellation>{{cite news |url=https://www.elfinancierocr.com/economia-y-politica/incertidumbres-financieras-desvanecen-sueno-de/7HFF44CY3RBVVE7BR3YRKJ3XZY/story/ |title=Incertidumbres financieras desvanecen sueño de canal en Nicaragua |website=El Financiero |agency=AFP |date=21 February 2018 |language=Spanish}}</ref><ref name=Interest>{{cite news |first=Seth |last=Cropsey |date=2018-04-09 |title=China sets its sights on South America |website=The American Interest |url=https://www.the-american-interest.com/2018/04/09/china-sets-sights-south-america/ |quote=China has abandoned its attempts to construct a Nicaraguan Canal to compete with its Panamanian counterpart.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Beverly |last=Goldberg |website=Open Democracy |date=27 August 2018 |title=Is the Nicaraguan mega-canal failure good news for indigenous communities? |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/democraciaabierta/beverly-goldberg/is-nicaraguan-mega-canal-failure-good-news-for-indigenous-communi |access-date=April 10, 2023 |archive-date=August 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828071540/https://www.opendemocracy.net/democraciaabierta/beverly-goldberg/is-nicaraguan-mega-canal-failure-good-news-for-indigenous-communi |url-status=dead }}</ref> though the head of the project insisted work was on-going. In April 2018 HKND Group closed its offices, leaving no forwarding address or telephone numbers to be reached.<ref name="closing">{{Cite news |date=2018-04-26 |title=Ex-Billionaire Abandons Office in Prime Hong Kong Tower |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-26/nicaragua-canal-builder-abandons-office-in-prime-hong-kong-tower |access-date=2023-05-01}}</ref> The increasing rate of melting of ice in the Arctic Ocean has led to speculation that the [[Northwest Passage]] or [[Arctic Bridge]] may become viable for commercial shipping. This route would save {{convert|9,300|km|mi|abbr=on}} on the route from Asia to Europe compared with the Panama Canal, possibly leading to a diversion of some traffic to that route. However, such a route is beset by unresolved territorial issues and would still hold significant problems owing to ice.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/jun/12/20050612-123835-3711r/ |title=Northwest Passage redux |first=Levon |last=Sevunts |work=The Washington Times |date=2005-06-12 |access-date=2009-04-20 |archive-date=December 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226220945/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/jun/12/20050612-123835-3711r/ |url-status=live }} See also: {{cite web |url=http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=1429085&C=america |title=Conservative Leader Harper Asserts Canada's Arctic Claims |first=Michel |last=Comte |publisher=DefenceNews.com (Agence France-Presse) |date=2005-12-22 |access-date=2006-02-23 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> ===Water issues=== [[File:Gatun locks showing the "mule" locomotives at work.jpg|thumb|Gatun locks showing the [[Panama Canal locks#Mules|"mule" locomotives]] at work]] Gatun Lake is filled with rainwater, and the lake accumulates excess water during wet months. For the old locks, water is lost to the oceans at a rate of {{convert|101,000|m3|e6usgal acre-foot|sigfig=3|abbr=unit}} per downward lock movement.<ref name="PCA14">{{cite web |title=Physical characteristics of the waterway |url=https://pancanal.com/eng/noticiero/canal-faqs/physical/14.html |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |access-date=2023-08-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011014101214fw_/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/noticiero/canal-faqs/physical/14.html |archive-date=2001-10-14 |date=2001 |quote="How much water is required to fill a lock chamber? Each lock chamber requires 101,000 cubic meters of water. An average of 52 million gallons of fresh water are used." |url-status=dead}}</ref> The ship's submerged volume is not relevant to this amount of water. During the [[dry season]], when there is less rainfall, there is also a shortage of water in Gatun Lake.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/17/climate/drought-water-shortage-panama-canal.html|title=What Panama's Worst Drought Means for Its Canal's Future|last=Fountain|first=Henry|date=2019-05-17|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-01-02|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102175814/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/17/climate/drought-water-shortage-panama-canal.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As a signatory to the 2000 [[United Nations Global Compact]] and member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the ACP developed an environmentally and socially sustainable program for expansion, which protects the aquatic and terrestrial resources of the canal watershed. The expansion uses three water-saving basins at each new lock, diminishing water loss. It also preserves freshwater resources along the waterway by reusing 60 percent of water from the basins in the locks in each transit.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Alarcón|first1=Luis F.|last2=Ashley|first2=David B.|last3=Sucre de Hanily |first3=Angelique|author4-link=Keith R. Molenaar|last4=Molenaar|first4=Keith R.|last5=Ungo|first5=Ricardo|date=October 2011|title=Risk Planning and Management for the Panama Canal Expansion Program|journal=Journal of Construction Engineering and Management |volume=137|issue=10|pages=762–771|doi=10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000317}}</ref>[[File:Mule in the Miraflores Locks.JPG|thumb|''Mule'' in the Miraflores Locks]]The mean sea level at the Pacific side is about {{convert|20|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} higher than that of the Atlantic side due to differences in ocean conditions such as water density and weather.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions |url=https://psmsl.org/train_and_info/faqs/ |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=psmsl.org}}</ref> The 2015-16 fiscal year was one of the driest periods on record, restricting ships passage;<ref name="wp20230824">{{Cite news |last=Sheridan |first=Mary Beth |date=2023-08-24 |title=Traffic jam at Panama Canal as water level plummets |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/08/24/panama-canal-ship-backup/ |access-date=2023-08-25 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> 2019 was the fifth driest year for 70 years. Temperature rise has also caused an increase in evaporation.<ref name="wired">{{Cite magazine |last=Jocelyn Timperley |date=2020-01-15 |title=The Panama Canal is running out of water |language=en-GB |magazine=Wired UK |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/panama-canal-climate-change |access-date=2023-08-25 |issn=1357-0978}}</ref> In normal times, 36 ships can transit the canal each day, but in early December 2023, ships were backing up because only 22 ships per day could transit due to low water levels.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yerushalmy |first=Jonathan |date=22 December 2023 |title=Changing climate casts a shadow over the future of the Panama Canal – and global trade |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/22/changing-climate-casts-a-shadow-over-the-future-of-the-panama-canal-and-global-trade |access-date=22 December 2023 |website=The Guardian}}</ref> In January 2024, 24 ships per day were allowed to transit.<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 December 2023|title=Panama Canal to increase daily transits to 24 starting in January |url=https://pancanal.com/en/panama-canal-to-increase-daily-transits-to-24-starting-in-january/|access-date=29 December 2023 |website= Panama Canal Authority}}</ref> ==Third set of locks project (expansion)== {{Main|Panama Canal expansion project}} {{Panorama |image = File:New Panama Canal expansion project.jpg |height = 165 |caption = New Panama Canal expansion project. July 2015 }} As demand is rising for efficient global shipping of goods, the canal is positioned to be a significant feature of world shipping for the foreseeable future. However, changes in shipping patterns—particularly the increasing numbers of larger-than-Panamax ships—necessitated changes to the canal for it to retain a significant [[market share]]. In 2006 it was anticipated that by 2011, 37 percent of the world's container ships would be too large for the present canal, and hence a failure to expand would result in a significant loss of market share. The maximum sustainable capacity of the original canal, given some relatively minor improvement work, was estimated at 340 million PC/UMS tons per year; it was anticipated that this capacity would be reached between 2009 and 2012. Close to 50 percent of transiting vessels were already using the full width of the locks.<ref name=acpthird>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/esp/plan/documentos/propuesta/acp-proposla-relevant-information.pdf |title=Relevant Information on the Third Set of Locks Project |publisher=Panama Canal Authority |date=2006-04-24 |access-date=2006-04-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524172203/http://www.pancanal.com/esp/plan/documentos/propuesta/acp-proposla-relevant-information.pdf |archive-date=2006-05-24 }}</ref> An enlargement scheme to allow for a greater number of transits and the ability to handle larger ships, similar to the [[History of the Panama Canal#Third-lane plan|Third Lock Scheme]] of 1939, had been under consideration for some time,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businesspanama.com/investing/why_invest/panama_canal.php |title=The Panama Canal |publisher=Business in Panama |access-date=2007-09-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927061736/http://www.businesspanama.com/investing/why_invest/panama_canal.php |archive-date=2007-09-27 }}</ref> and by 2006 Panama's government canal authority was recommending such a plan.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4876322.stm |title=Panama Canal set for $7.5bn revamp |first=Jane |last=Monahan |work=BBC News |date=2006-04-04 |access-date=November 27, 2006 |archive-date=December 15, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061215191150/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4876322.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2010/03/12/pr379.html |title=Panama Canal Authority: Panama Canal Expansion is "2009 Project Finance Deal of the Year", 12 March 2010 |publisher=Pancanal.com |date=2010-03-12 |access-date=2010-10-24 |archive-date=March 29, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329135721/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2010/03/12/pr379.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The expansion proposal, with a cost estimate of {{USD|5.25 billion}}, was expected to double the canal's shipping capacity by allowing both the passage of longer and wider [[Post-Panamax]] ships and an increase in overall traffic. This proposal was approved in a [[Panama Canal expansion referendum, 2006|national referendum]] by about 80 percent on October 22, 2006.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/10627208 |title=Panama approves $5.25 billion canal expansion |publisher=[[NBC News]] |date=2006-10-22 |access-date=November 10, 2019 |archive-date=December 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202053323/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/10627208/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The canal expansion was built between 2007 and 2016.<ref name="AP 2016" /> [[File:New Panama Canal.jpg|upright=1.25|thumb|New ''Agua Clara'' locks (Atlantic side) in operation]] The expansion plan had two new flights of locks built parallel to, and operated in addition to, the old locks: one east of the existing Gatun locks, and one southwest of the Miraflores locks, each supported by approach channels. Each flight ascends from sea level directly to the level of Gatun Lake; the existing two-stage ascent at Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks was not replicated. The new lock chambers feature sliding gates, doubled for safety, and are {{convert|427|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} long, {{convert|55|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} wide, and {{convert|18.3|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} deep. This allows the transit of vessels with a beam of up to {{convert|49|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}}, an overall length of up to {{convert|366|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} and a draft of up to {{convert|15|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}}, equivalent to a container ship carrying around 12,000 containers, each {{convert|20|ft|m|sigfig=2|order=flip|abbr=on}} in length (TEU). The new locks are supported by new approach channels, including a {{convert|6.2|km|mi|abbr=on}} channel at Miraflores from the locks to the Gaillard Cut, skirting Miraflores Lake. Each of these channels are {{convert|218|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} wide, which will require post-Panamax vessels to navigate the channels in one direction at a time. The Gaillard Cut and the channel through Gatun Lake were widened to at least {{convert|280|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} on the straight portions and at least {{convert|366|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} on the bends. The maximum level of Gatun Lake was raised from {{convert|26.7|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} to {{convert|27.1|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}}. Each flight of locks is accompanied by nine water reuse basins (three per lock chamber), each basin being about {{convert|70|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} wide, {{convert|430|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} long and {{convert|5.50|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} deep. These gravity-fed basins allow 60 percent of the water used in each transit to be reused; the new locks consequently use 7 percent less water per transit than each of the existing lock lanes. The deepening of Gatun Lake and the raising of its maximum water level also provide capacity for significantly more water storage. These measures are intended to allow the expanded canal to operate without constructing new reservoirs. The estimated cost of the project is {{USD|5.25 billion}}. The project was designed to allow for an anticipated growth in traffic from 280 million PC/UMS tons in 2005 to nearly 510 million PC/UMS tons in 2025. The expanded canal will have a maximum sustainable capacity of about 600 million PC/UMS tons per year. Tolls will continue to be calculated based on vessel tonnage, and in some cases depend on the locks used. An article in the February 2007 issue of ''Popular Mechanics'' magazine described the engineering aspects of the expansion project.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/transportation/4212183.html |title=The Panama Canal's Ultimate Upgrade |first=Brad |last=Reagan |work=Popular Mechanics |date=February 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206224605/http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/transportation/4212183.html |archive-date=2007-02-06 }}</ref> There is also a follow-up article in the February 2010 issue of ''Popular Mechanics''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/transportation/4344444.html?page=1 |title=The Panama Canal Gets a New Lane |first=Andrew |last=Kaufman |work=Popular Mechanics |date=February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206005955/http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/transportation/4344444.html?page=1 |archive-date=2010-02-06 }}</ref> On September 3, 2007, thousands of [[Panamanians]] stood across from [[Paraíso, Panamá Province|Paraíso]] Hill in Panama to witness a huge initial [[explosion]] and launch of the Expansion Program. The first phase of the project was the dry [[excavations]] of the {{convert|218|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} wide [[trench]] connecting the Gaillard Cut with the [[Pacific coast]], removing 47 million cubic meters of earth and rock.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0334522620070904|title=Work starts on biggest-ever Panama Canal overhaul|work=Reuters|date=2007-09-04|access-date=January 10, 2022|archive-date=November 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127101308/https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0334522620070904|url-status=live}}</ref> By June 2012, a 30 m [[reinforced concrete]] monolith had been completed, the first of 46 such monoliths which will line the new Pacific-side lock walls.<ref name="pca2012jun19">{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2012/06/19/pr446.html |title=Panama Canal Completes First Monolith at the New Pacific Locks |author=Panama Canal Authority |date=19 June 2012 |access-date=2012-06-20 |archive-date=July 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703220929/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2012/06/19/pr446.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By early July 2012, however, it was announced that the canal expansion project had fallen six months behind schedule, leading expectations for the expansion to open in April 2015 rather than October 2014, as originally planned.<ref name="sb20120702">{{cite web |url=http://shipandbunker.com/news/am/528100-delay-confirmed-on-panama-canal-expansion-project |title=Delay Confirmed on Panama Canal Expansion Project |author=Ship and Bunker |date=2 July 2012 |access-date=2012-07-07 |archive-date=July 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708013547/http://shipandbunker.com/news/am/528100-delay-confirmed-on-panama-canal-expansion-project |url-status=live }}</ref> By September 2014, the new gates were projected to be open for transit at the "beginning of 2016".<ref name="maersk20140829">{{cite web |url=http://www.sandandgravel.com/news/article.asp?v1=18723 |title=Panama Canal Authority updates Maersk Line on expansion programme |author=Dredging News Online |date=29 August 2014 |publisher=Dredging News Online |access-date=2 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903150152/http://www.sandandgravel.com/news/article.asp?v1=18723 |archive-date=September 3, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="maersk20140901">{{cite web |url=http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/panama-canal-authority-updates-maersk-line-on-expansion-programme/ |title=Panama Canal Authority updates Maersk Line on expansion programme |author=Dredging News Online |date=1 September 2014 |publisher=Hellenic Shipping News |access-date=2 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027212712/http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/panama-canal-authority-updates-maersk-line-on-expansion-programme/ |archive-date=27 October 2014 }}</ref><ref name="pca2014aug20">{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2014/08/20/pr519.html |title=Panama Canal Updates Maersk Line on Expansion Program |author=Panama Canal Authority |date=20 August 2014 |access-date=3 September 2014 |archive-date=February 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201011129/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2014/08/20/pr519.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="charlotte">{{cite web|url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/09/09/5160891/sc-international-trade-conference.html |title=Maritime panel to hold sessions on port congestion |first=Bruce |last=Smith |date=9 Sep 2014 |access-date=11 Sep 2014 |work=Charlotte Observer |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911113315/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/09/09/5160891/sc-international-trade-conference.html |archive-date=2014-09-11 }}</ref> [[File:Agua Clara Locks 09 2019 0822.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Neopanamax]] ship passing through the ''Agua Clara'' locks.]] It was announced in July 2009 that the Belgian dredging company [[Jan De Nul]], together with a consortium of contractors consisting of the Spanish [[Sacyr|Sacyr Vallehermoso]], the Italian [[Impregilo]], and the Panamanian company Grupo Cusa, had been awarded the contract to build the six new locks for US$3.1 billion, which was one billion less than the next highest competing bid due to having a concrete budget 71 percent smaller than that of the next bidder and allotted roughly 25 percent less for steel to reinforce that concrete. The contract resulted in $100 million in dredging works over the next few years for the Belgian company and a great deal of work for its construction division. The design of the locks is a carbon copy of the [[Berendrecht Lock]], which is 68 m wide and 500 m long, making it the second largest lock in the world after the Kieldrecht lock in the port of Antwerp, Belgium. Completed in 1989 by the [[Port of Antwerp]], which De Nul helped build, the company still has engineers and specialists who were part of that project.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediargus.be/flanderstoday.admin.en/rss/22548040.html?via=rss&language=en |title=De Nul dredging company to build locks in Panama Canal |publisher=Flanders Today |date=2009-07-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904012809/https://www.mediargus.be/flanderstoday.admin.en/rss/22548040.html?via=rss&language=en |archive-date=2015-09-04 }}</ref> In January 2014, a contract dispute threatened the progress of the project.<ref>{{cite news|title=Contract dispute jeopardizes Panama Canal schedule|url=http://www.americanshipper.com/main/news/7ba02bab-5b13-4e8a-8c6f-deed1c2975c2.aspx|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=American Shipper|date=January 2, 2014|archive-date=December 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203153757/https://www.americanshipper.com/main/news/7ba02bab-5b13-4e8a-8c6f-deed1c2975c2.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Panama Canal refuses to pay $1 billion more for expansion work|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sacyr-panama-idUSBREA0714S20140108|access-date=10 January 2014|newspaper=Reuters|date=January 8, 2014|author=Lomi Kriel|author2=Elida Moreno|archive-date=October 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016025219/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/08/us-sacyr-panama-idUSBREA0714S20140108|url-status=live}}</ref> There was a delay of less than two months however, with work by the consortium members reaching goals by June 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://micanaldepanama.com/expansion/2014/02/panama-canal-new-locks-project-works-resume/|title=Panama Canal New Locks Project Works Resume|author=Panama Canal Authority|date=20 February 2014|access-date=2014-06-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027210947/http://micanaldepanama.com/expansion/2014/02/panama-canal-new-locks-project-works-resume/|archive-date=October 27, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://micanaldepanama.com/expansion/2014/06/second-shipment-of-new-gates-arrive-at-the-panama-canal/|title=Second Shipment of new gates arrive at the Panama Canal|author=Panama Canal Authority|date=10 June 2014|access-date=2014-06-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006062940/http://micanaldepanama.com/expansion/2014/06/second-shipment-of-new-gates-arrive-at-the-panama-canal/|archive-date=October 6, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> In June 2015, flooding of the new locks began: first on the Atlantic side, then on the Pacific; by then, the canal's re-inauguration was slated for April 2016.<ref name="pca2015jun11">{{cite web|url=https://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2015/06/11/pr550.html |title=Panama Canal Expansion Begins Filling of New Locks |author=Panama Canal Authority |date=11 June 2015 |access-date=12 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614144853/https://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2015/06/11/pr550.html |archive-date=14 June 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/flooding-of-expanded-panama-canal-begins |first=Kathryn |last=Stone |title=Flooding of Expanded Panama Canal Begins |date=10 June 2015 |work=The Maritime Executive |access-date=June 13, 2015 |archive-date=June 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614100521/http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/flooding-of-expanded-panama-canal-begins |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="pca2015jun22">{{cite web|url=https://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2015/06/22/pr551.html |title=Panama Canal Expansion Moves Ahead with Filling of New Pacific Locks |author=Panama Canal Authority |date=22 June 2015 |access-date=1 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702191025/https://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2015/06/22/pr551.html |archive-date= 2 July 2015 }}</ref> On March 23, 2016, the expansion inauguration was set for June 26, 2016.<ref name="pca2016mar23">{{cite web |url=https://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2016/03/23/pr579.html |title=Panama Canal Inaugurates Scale Model Training Facility, Announces Expansion Inauguration Date |author=Panama Canal Authority |date=23 March 2016 |access-date=4 April 2016 |archive-date=April 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405043033/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/pr/press-releases/2016/03/23/pr579.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The new locks opened for commercial traffic on June 26, 2016, and the first ship to cross the canal using the third set of locks was a modern [[Neopanamax]] vessel, the Chinese-owned container ship ''Cosco Shipping Panama''.<ref name="AP 2016">{{cite news|last1=Zamorano|first1=Juan|last2=Martinez|first2=Kathia|title=Panama Canal opens $5B locks, bullish despite shipping woes|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b8495e0dad974d39bf4147f647d2f831/panama-canal-opens-5b-locks-bullish-despite-shipping-woes|access-date=March 6, 2017|work=The Big Story|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=June 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160626050451/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b8495e0dad974d39bf4147f647d2f831/panama-canal-opens-5b-locks-bullish-despite-shipping-woes|archive-date=June 26, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The original locks, now over 100 years old, allow engineers greater access for maintenance, and are projected to continue operating indefinitely.<ref name=acpthird/> After the construction of the new locks, in addition to the already existing ones, to date the ship with the largest dimensions transiting the "Panama Canal new sideway", had the following dimensions: 366.47 meters in length, 48.23 meters in width and 15 meters draft.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} The total cost is unknown since the expansion's contractors are seeking at least an additional {{USD|3.4 billion}} from the canal authority due to excess expenses.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Bogdanich |first1=Walt |last2=Williams |first2=Jacqueline |last3=Méndez |first3=Ana Graciela |date=2016-06-22 |title=The New Panama Canal: A Risky Bet |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/06/22/world/americas/panama-canal.html,%20https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/06/22/world/americas/panama-canal.html |access-date=2023-05-01 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ==Environmental and ecological consequences== In 1978, it was published that "clearing the forest in the watershed might kill the canal".<ref name="bio">{{Cite journal |first1=Richard |last1=Condit |first2=W. Douglas |last2=Robinson |first3=Roberto |last3=Ibáñez |date=May 2001 |title=The Status of the Panama Canal Watershed and Its Biodiversity at the Beginning of the 21st Century: Long-term ecological studies reveal a diverse flora and fauna near the Panama Canal, harbored within a corridor of forest stretching from the Caribbean to the Pacific, but deforestation, land degradation, erosion, and overhunting remain threats |journal=BioScience |volume=51 |pages=389–398|doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0389:TSOTPC]2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=85832166 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In 1985, the forested portion had dropped to 30%.<ref name="guard2007"/> As of 2000, deforestation through growth of human population, land degradation, erosion, and overhunting continued to be threats to the ecosystem of the Panama canal watershed.<ref name="bio" /> Deforestation causes erosion, raising the bottom of the Gatun and Alajuala lakes lowering their water holding capacity.<ref name="guard2007">{{Cite news |last=Parker |first=Matthew |date=2007-02-28 |title=Changing course |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/feb/28/water.conservationandendangeredspecies |access-date=2023-08-25 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Ship traffic routinely contaminates the water; in 1986, a crude [[oil spill]] east of the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal killed plants and invertebrates.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jackson |first1=J. B. C. |last2=Cubit |first2=J. D. |last3=Keller |first3=B. D. |last4=Batista |first4=V. |last5=Burns |first5=K. |last6=Caffey |first6=H. M. |last7=Caldwell |first7=R. L. |last8=Garrity |first8=S. D. |last9=Getter |first9=C. D. |last10=Gonzalez |first10=C. |last11=Guzman |first11=H. M. |last12=Kaufmann |first12=K. W. |last13=Knap |first13=A. H. |last14=Levings |first14=S. C. |last15=Marshall |first15=M. J. |date=1989-01-06 |title=Ecological Effects of a Major Oil Spill on Panamanian Coastal Marine Communities |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.243.4887.37 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=243 |issue=4887 |pages=37–44 |doi=10.1126/science.243.4887.37 |pmid=17780421 |bibcode=1989Sci...243...37J |s2cid=41947657 |issn=0036-8075}}</ref> Especially with the 2016 expansion, invasive species can travel faster, either on the hulls of ships or in [[ballast water]].<ref name="ng">{{Cite news |last=Andrea Appleton |date=2015-02-25 |title=Panama Canal: Superhighway for Invasive Species? |language=en |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/150223-panama-canal-expansion-invasive-species-environment |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320050538/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/150223-panama-canal-expansion-invasive-species-environment |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 20, 2021 |access-date=2023-08-25}}</ref> Lake water has become salty over time.<ref name="guard2007"/> ==Routes competing with the canal== ===Nicaragua canal=== {{Main|Nicaragua Canal}} On July 7, 2014, [[Wang Jing (businessman)|Wang Jing]], chairman of the [[HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment|HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co. Ltd. (HKND Group)]] advised that a route for Nicaragua's proposed canal had been approved. The construction work was projected by HKND to begin in 2014 and take 5 years,<ref name=bbc>{{cite web|url= https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-30584559|title= Nicaragua launches construction of inter-oceanic canal|publisher= [[BBC]]|date= December 23, 2014|access-date= January 9, 2015|archive-date= January 8, 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150108185127/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-30584559|url-status= live}}</ref> although there had been little progress before the project's abandonment.<ref name=ReutersPerry2017>{{cite web|url=http://news.trust.org/item/20171201092333-6asue|title=Can a coast-to-coast canal solve Nicaragua's poverty problem?|date=1 December 2017|work=Thomson Reuters Foundation News|access-date=1 December 2017|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201104008/http://news.trust.org/item/20171201092333-6asue|url-status=live}}</ref> The Nicaraguan parliament approved plans for the {{convert|280|km|mi|abbr=on|0}} canal through Nicaragua and according to the deal, the company would have been responsible for operating and maintaining the canal for a 50-year period. By May 2017, no concrete action had been reportedly taken constructing the canal and further doubts were expressed about its financing.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-08-23|title=Four Years Later, China-Backed Nicaragua Canal Struggles to Take Off the Ground|url=https://panampost.com/adriana-peralta/2017/05/08/four-years-later-china-backed-nicaragua-canal-struggles-to-take-off-the-ground/|access-date=2022-02-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823160624/https://panampost.com/adriana-peralta/2017/05/08/four-years-later-china-backed-nicaragua-canal-struggles-to-take-off-the-ground/|archive-date=August 23, 2017}}</ref> In February 2018, analysts widely viewed the project as defunct, though the head of the project insisted work was on-going and HKND retained the legal rights to the concession for the canal as well as side projects. Despite HKND vanishing in April 2018,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Schmidt|first=Blake|date=26 April 2018|title=Ex-Billionaire Abandons Office in Prime Hong Kong Tower|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-26/nicaragua-canal-builder-abandons-office-in-prime-hong-kong-tower|access-date=6 February 2022|website=Bloomberg}}</ref> the Nicaraguan government indicates that it will continue with the 908 km<sup>2</sup> (351 sq mi) dry land expropriations within Nicaragua, under land expropriation Canal Law 840. ===Colombia rail link=== In 2011, Colombia's then-president [[Juan Manuel Santos]] announced a proposal for a {{convert|220|km|0|abbr=on}} railway between Colombia's Pacific and Caribbean coasts.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7e14756c-37a9-11e0-b91a-00144feabdc0.html |last1=Rathbone |first1=John Paul |last2=Mapstone |first2=Naomi |title=China in talks over Panama Canal rival |newspaper=Financial Times |date=2011-02-13 |others=Additional reporting by Geoff Dyer and Robert Wright |url-status=unfit <!-- actually live, but behind paywall --> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110215125957/https://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7e14756c-37a9-11e0-b91a-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=2011-02-15}}</ref><ref name="ch-co-rail"> {{cite news |last=Branigan |first=Tania |date=February 14, 2011 |title=China goes on the rails to rival Panama canal |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/14/china-rail-rival-panama-canal |url-status=live |work=The Guardian |others=Additional research by Lin Yi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211041102/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/14/china-rail-rival-panama-canal |archive-date=2021-02-11}}</ref> However, in 2015 the director of the Colombia-China Chamber of Commerce said the proposal "was mentioned in 2011 and subsequently had minimal relevance".<ref>{{cite news |last=Romero |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Romero |date=October 3, 2015 |title=China's Ambitious Rail Projects Crash Into Harsh Realities in Latin America |script-title= |trans-title= |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/world/americas/chinas-ambitious-rail-projects-crash-into-harsh-realities-in-latin-america.html |url-status=live |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211032654/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/world/americas/chinas-ambitious-rail-projects-crash-into-harsh-realities-in-latin-america.html |archive-date=2021-02-11 |url-access=limited}}</ref> ===Northwest Passage=== {{Main|Northwest Passage}} Climate change has thinned much of the ice that in the past made this route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans impassable. Satellite navigation can help monitor location of the ice which remains, further easing transit. A few ships have successfully crossed the previously impossible route since 2000.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/09/09/first-came-an-arctic-luxury-cruise-next-comes-arctic-shipping/ |title=That pricey Arctic luxury cruise was just the beginning. Up next: Arctic shipping |author-link=Chris Mooney (journalist) |first=Chris |last=Mooney |date=September 9, 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=January 10, 2022 |archive-date=September 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907040356/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/09/09/first-came-an-arctic-luxury-cruise-next-comes-arctic-shipping/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ===Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec=== {{Main|Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec}} Since 2019, Mexico has been building a corridor of its own, known as the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT, by its initials in Spanish), which will use primarily a railway, the ''[[Tren Interoceánico]]'', to transport cargo and passengers from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic.<ref>{{cite journal|title=What is the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT)?|journal=Opportimes|date=19 November 2021|url=https://www.opportimes.com/what-is-the-interoceanic-corridor-of-the-isthmus-of-tehuantepec-ciit/|access-date=18 July 2023}}</ref> It is planned to open on December 22, 2023, and for all the works related to it to have begun operation by July 2024.<ref>{{cite journal|title="El 22 de diciembre se inaugura el Tren del Istmo": AMLO|journal=[[Proceso (magazine)|Proceso]]|date=14 October 2023|language=es|url=https://www.proceso.com.mx/nacional/2023/10/14/el-22-de-diciembre-se-inaugura-el-tren-del-istmo-amlo-316776.html|access-date=15 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Elisa|last=Villa Román|title=Tren Interoceánico del Istmo de Tehuantepec: ruta completa, estaciones y fechas de inauguración|journal=[[El País]]|date=1 October 2023|language=es|url=https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-10-01/tren-interoceanico-del-istmo-de-tehuantepec-ruta-completa-estaciones-y-fechas-de-inauguracion.html|access-date=15 October 2023}}</ref> This idea is older than the Panama Canal itself, with the original [[Tren Interoceánico|Tehuantepec Railway]], which is being rehabilitated for the CIIT, being inaugurated in 1907 to initial success, but falling out of use due to the [[Mexican Revolution]] and the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. The current Corridor is expected to have certain advantages over the Panama Canal, such as its speed, being able to transport cargo from one ocean to the other in about six hours,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Interoceanic Corridor in Mexico will move 1.4 million containers a year|journal=Mexico Daily Post|date=10 November 2022|url=https://mexicodailypost.com/2022/11/10/interoceanic-corridor-in-mexico-will-move-1-4-million-containers-a-year/|access-date=18 July 2023}}</ref> and its location, being closer to the United States than Panama, in addition to the creation of ten [[industrial parks]] in the Isthmus with various tax benefits to encourage private investment.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Juan|last=Toletino Morales|title=Ferrocarril del Istmo: a un siglo, ¿qué puede (volver a) salir mal?|journal=[[Expansión (Mexico)|Expansión]]|date=30 May 2023|language=es|url=https://expansion.mx/empresas/2023/05/30/proyecto-ferrocarril-del-istmo|access-date=18 July 2023}}</ref> However, despite being often described as a potential alternative/competitor to the Panama Canal, the ambassador of Panama in Mexico, [[Alfredo Oranges]], and the former director of the CIIT, [[Rafael Marín Mollinedo]], have stated that they do not see the CIIT in this way, and that they prefer to see it as a "complement" to the Panama Canal, which could relieve the intense traffic the Canal has to cope with. The ambassador even proposed collaborating with the Mexican government to make the Corridor more efficient.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Jassiel|last=Valdelamar|title=Corredor Interoceánico de AMLO y Canal de Panamá pueden ser 'compitas', destaca embajador|journal=[[El Financiero]]|date=31 May 2023|language=es|url=https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/economia/2023/05/31/corredor-interoceanico-y-canal-de-panama-pueden-ser-compitas-destaca-embajador/|access-date=18 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Nicolás|last=Guzmán|title=El histórico corredor interoceánico que revivió AMLO|journal=[[DW Español]]|date=23 November 2022|language=es|url=https://www.dw.com/es/el-hist%C3%B3rico-corredor-interoce%C3%A1nico-que-revivi%C3%B3-amlo-en-m%C3%A9xico/a-63865946|access-date=18 July 2023}}</ref> ===Other projects=== [[File:Mining and Scientific Press - March 28 1885 - Interoceanic Ship Railway (206).png|thumb|upright|Wood engraving illustrating the plan for an "Interoceanic Ship Railway" in Central America between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, proposed by [[James Buchanan Eads|James B. Eads]] in the late 19th century. It was never built, and the Panama Canal was built instead.]] Individuals, companies, and governments have explored the possibility of constructing deep water ports and rail links connecting coasts as a "dry canal" in Guatemala, Costa Rica, and El Salvador/Honduras. However, plans to construct these sea-rail-sea links have yet to materialize.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://theloadstar.co.uk/canal-mania-hits-central-america-with-three-more-atlantic-pacific-projects/ |title=Canal mania hits central America with three more Atlantic-Pacific projects |first=Gavin |last=Van Marle |work=The Load Star |date=July 2013 |access-date=October 15, 2014 |archive-date=January 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150116063316/http://theloadstar.co.uk/canal-mania-hits-central-america-with-three-more-atlantic-pacific-projects/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ==Master Key to Panama Canal and Honorary Pilots== During the last one hundred years, the Panama Canal Authority has granted membership in the "Esteemed Order of Bearers of the Master Key of the Panama Canal" and appointed a few "Honorary Lead Pilots" to employees, captains and dignitaries.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Certificate from the Esteemed Order of Bearers of the Master Key to the Panama Canal Making Admiral Arleigh Burke an Honorary Lead Pilot|url=http://public1.nhhcaws.local/research/library/manuscripts/b/certificate-from-the-esteemed-order-of-bearers-of-the-master-key-to-the-panama-canal-making-admiral-arleigh-burke-an-honorary-lead-pilot.html|access-date=2022-01-31|website=public1.nhhcaws.local|language=en-US}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> One of the most recent was U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner [[Louis E. Sola|Louis Sola]], who was awarded for his work for supporting seafarers during the COVID-19 pandemic and previously transiting the canal more than 100 times.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-01-28|title=Commissioner Louis E. Sola Honored with Master Key and Honorary Lead Pilot|url=https://www.fmc.gov/commissioner-louis-e-sola-honored-with-master-key-and-honorary-lead-pilot/|access-date=2022-01-31|website=Federal Maritime Commission|language=en-us}}</ref> Another recent award was to Commodore Ronald Warwick,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buckinghamcovers.com/shop/signer.php?signer_id=458|title=Buckingham First Day Covers|publisher=Internet Stamps Group Limited|access-date=8 October 2014|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215171611/https://www.buckinghamcovers.com/shop/signer.php?signer_id=458|url-status=live}}</ref> a former [[Captain (nautical)|Master]] of the [[Cunard Line]]rs ''[[Queen Elizabeth 2]]'' and [[RMS Queen Mary 2|RMS ''Queen Mary 2'']], who has traversed the Canal more than 50 times, and [[Senior Captain]] Raffaele Minotauro, an Unlimited Oceangoing Shipmaster Senior Grade, of the former Italian governmental navigation company known as the "[[Italian Line]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=web |first=redazione |date=2018-10-03 |title=TOC Conference 2018 Panama. Cenni storici del Canale di Panama (di A. Martinengo) |url=https://www.farodiroma.it/toc-conference-2018-panama-cenni-storici-del-canale-di-panama-di-a-martinengo/ |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=FarodiRoma |language=it-IT}}</ref> ==See also== * [[Ajax (crane barge)]] * [[Canal des Deux Mers]] * [[Canal Zone Police]] * [[Corinth Canal]] * [[List of waterways]] * [[Panama Canal Zone]] * [[Suez Canal]] ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ===Works cited=== * {{cite book|last=Cadbury|first=Deborah|title=Seven Wonders of the Industrial World|year=2003|publisher=Fourth Estate|location=London and New York}} * {{cite book |last=McCullough |first=David | authorlink=David McCullough|title=The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870–1914 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |year=1977 |isbn=0-671-24409-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/pathbetweenseas00mccu}} ==Further reading== ===Construction and technical issues=== * Brodhead, Michael J. 2012. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130408131511/http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA564251 "The Panama Canal: Writings of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Officers Who Conceived and Built It"]. US Army Corps of Engineers History Office, Alexandria, VA. * {{Cite book| first1 = Jon T.| last1 = Hoffman| first2 = Michael J| last2 = Brodhead| first3 = Carol R.| last3 = Byerly| first4 = Glenn F.| last4 = Williams| url = http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/panama/panamacanal/index.html| title = The Panama Canal: An Army's Enterprise| publisher = [[United States Army Center of Military History]]| year = 2009| location = Washington, D.C.| id = 70–115–1| access-date = June 18, 2010| archive-date = April 3, 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150403023219/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/panama/panamacanal/index.html| url-status = dead}} * Jaen, Omar (2005). ''Las Negociaciones de los Tratados Torrijos-Carter, 1970–1979 (Tomos 1 y 2)''. Panama: Autoridad del Canal de Panama. {{ISBN|9962-607-32-9}} (Obra completa). * Jorden, William J. (1984). ''Panama Odyssey''. 746 pages, illustrated. Austin: [[University of Texas Press]]. {{ISBN|0-292-76469-3}}. * {{cite book |last=Mills |first=J. Saxon |year=1913 |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34124 |title=The Panama Canal—A history and description of the enterprise}} A Project Gutenberg free ebook. * Parker, Matthew. (2007). ''Panama Fever: The Epic Story of One of the Greatest Human Achievements of All Time—The Building of the Panama Canal''. New York: Doubleday. {{ISBN|978-0-385-51534-4}}. * Sherman, Gary. "Conquering the Landscape (Gary Sherman explores the life of the great American trailblazer, John Frank Stevens)", ''History Magazine''. July 2008. ===Diplomatic and political history=== * Gilboa, Eytan. "The Panama Invasion Revisited: Lessons for the Use of Force in the Post Cold War Era." ''Political Science Quarterly'' (1995): 539–562. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2151883 in JSTOR] * Greene, Julie, ''The Canal Builders: Making America's Empire at the Panama Canal'' (New York: Penguin Press, 2009) * Hogan, J. Michael. "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/40574566 Theodore Roosevelt and the Heroes of Panama]" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly 19'' (1989): 79–94. * LaFeber, Walter. ''The Panama Canal: the crisis in historical perspective'' (Oxford University Press, 1978) * Long, Tom. "[http://dh.oxfordjournals.org/content/38/2/431 Putting the canal on the map: Panamanian Agenda-setting and the 1973 Security Council Meetings]{{dead link|date=November 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}," ''Diplomatic History'', 38, No. 2 (2014): pp. 431–455. * Major, John. ''Prize Possession: The United States and the Panama Canal, 1903–1979'' (1993) * Maurer, Noel, and Carlos Yu. ''The Big Ditch: How America Took, Ran, and Ultimately Gave Away the Panama Canal'' (Princeton University Press, 2010); 420 pp. {{ISBN|978-0-691-14738-3}}. Econometric analysis of costs ($9 billion in 2009 dollars) and benefits to US and Panama *Mellander, Gustavo A., Mellander, Nelly, Charles Edward Magoon: The Panama Years. Río Piedras, Puerto Rico: Editorial Plaza Mayor. ISBN 1-56328-155-4. OCLC 42970390. (1999) *Mellander, Gustavo A., The United States in Panamanian Politics: The Intriguing Formative Years." Danville, Ill.: Interstate Publishers. OCLC 138568. (1971) * Sánchez, Peter M. ''Panama Lost? U.S. Hegemony, Democracy and the Canal'' (University Press of Florida, 2007), 251 pp, * Sánchez, Peter M. "The end of hegemony? Panama and the United States." ''International Journal on World Peace'' (2002): 57–89. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/20753364 in JSTOR] ==External links== {{Commons and category}} {{GeoGroup}} * [http://www.pancanal.com/eng/index.html Panama Canal Authority website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812072652/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/index.html |date=August 12, 2017 }}—Has a simulation showing how the canal works * ''[http://www.sil.si.edu/Exhibitions/Make-the-Dirt-Fly/ Making the Dirt Fly, Building the Panama Canal]'' Smithsonian Institution Libraries * [http://www.canalmuseum.com/ Canalmuseum]—History, Documents, Photographs and Stories * [http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/browse/azBrowse/Panama+Canal Early stereographic images of the construction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120821/http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/browse/azBrowse/Panama+Canal |date=August 26, 2014 }} University of California * [http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/panama A. B. Nichols Panama Canal Collection at the Linda Hall Library] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826114608/http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/panama |date=August 26, 2014 }} Archival collection of maps, blueprints, photographs, letters, and other documents, collected by [http://contentdm.lindahall.org/u?/panama,5315 Aurin B. Nichols] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130113020712/http://contentdm.lindahall.org/u?/panama,5315 |date=January 13, 2013 }}, an engineer who worked on the canal project through from 1899 until its completion. * [https://www.newspapers.com/topics/american-imperialism/panama-canal/ Newspaper articles and clippings about the Panama Canal at Newspapers.com] * [https://pcmc.domains.uflib.ufl.edu/faq/ Panama Canal Collection] *{{HAER |survey=CZ-1 |id=cz0039 |title=Panama Canal, Panama City, Former Panama Canal Zone, CZ |photos=66 |cap=5}} *[https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/google_map_Panama_Canal.htm Panama Canal] at nationsonline.org {{Coord|9|04|48|N|79|40|48|W|region:PA_type:waterbody|display=title}} {{Panama Canal}} {{Panama topics}} {{Ship measurements}} {{Theodore Roosevelt}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Panama Canal| ]] [[Category:Canals in Panama]] [[Category:Ship canals]] [[Category:Water transport in Panama]] [[Category:Coasts of Panama]] [[Category:Economy of Panama]] [[Category:Geography of Panama]] [[Category:History of Panama]] [[Category:Macro-engineering]] [[Category:Transport infrastructure in Panama]] [[Category:Canals opened in 1914]] [[Category:1914 establishments in Panama]] [[Category:1914 establishments in the United States]] [[Category:1914 in Central America]] [[Category:Panamanian coasts of the Caribbean Sea]] [[Category:Panamanian coasts of the Pacific Ocean]] [[Category:Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks]] [[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in the former Panama Canal Zone]] [[Category:1890s in Panama]] [[Category:1880s in Panama]] Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Templates used on this page: Panama Canal (edit) Template:As of (edit) Template:Authority control (edit) Template:Catalog lookup link (edit) Template:Cbignore (edit) Template:Citation (edit) Template:Citation needed (edit) Template:Cite EB1911 (edit) Template:Cite book (edit) Template:Cite journal (edit) Template:Cite magazine (edit) Template:Cite news (edit) Template:Cite web (edit) Template:Commons and category (edit) Template:Convert (edit) Template:Coord (edit) Template:Cvt (edit) Template:DMCA (edit) Template:Dead link (edit) Template:Fix (edit) Template:Fraction/styles.css (edit) Template:GeoGroup (edit) Template:HAER (edit) Template:ISBN (edit) Template:Inflation (edit) Template:Inflation-fn (edit) Template:Inflation-year (edit) Template:Infobox canal (edit) Template:Isnumeric (edit) Template:Lang-es (edit) Template:Listen (edit) Template:MONTHNAME (edit) Template:Main (edit) Template:Main other (edit) Template:Page needed (edit) Template:Panama Canal (edit) Template:Panama Canal map (edit) Template:Panama topics (edit) Template:Panorama (edit) Template:Reflist (edit) Template:Reflist/styles.css (edit) Template:SS (edit) Template:Sclass (edit) Template:See also (edit) Template:Sfn (edit) Template:Ship measurements (edit) Template:Short description (edit) Template:TEU (edit) Template:Theodore Roosevelt (edit) Template:USD (edit) Template:USS (edit) Template:Use American English (edit) Template:Use mdy dates (edit) Template:Webarchive (edit) Template:Yesno (edit) Template:Yesno-no (edit) Template:Yesno-yes (edit) Module:Arguments (edit) Module:Catalog lookup link (edit) Module:Check for unknown parameters (edit) Module:Check isxn (edit) Module:Citation/CS1 (edit) Module:Citation/CS1/COinS (edit) Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration (edit) Module:Citation/CS1/Date validation (edit) Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers (edit) Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities (edit) Module:Citation/CS1/Whitelist (edit) Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css (edit) Module:Convert (edit) Module:Convert/data (edit) Module:Convert/text (edit) Module:Footnotes (edit) Module:Footnotes/anchor id list (edit) Module:Footnotes/anchor id list/data (edit) Module:Footnotes/whitelist (edit) Module:Format link (edit) Module:Hatnote (edit) Module:Hatnote/styles.css (edit) Module:Hatnote list (edit) Module:Labelled list hatnote (edit) Module:Unsubst (edit) Module:Yesno (edit) Discuss this page