Panama Canal

Panama Canal- a shipping canal connecting the Gulf of Panama of the Pacific Ocean with the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, located on the Isthmus of Panama in the territory of the state of Panama.

Length - 81.6 km, including 65.2 km on land and 16.4 km along the bottom of the Panama and Limon bays (for the passage of ships to deep water), total width - 150 meters (the width of the lock chambers is 33 meters), depth - 12 meters. Officially opened on June 12, 1920.

Passage of ships through lock chambers. The gateways have two lanes, each 33.5 m wide. Lock chamber length 305 m

Although the canal officially opened in 1920, the first ship to pass through was the USS Ancona on August 15, 1914.

The construction of the Panama Canal was one of the largest and most complex construction projects undertaken by mankind. The Panama Canal had an invaluable influence on the development of shipping and the economy as a whole in the Western Hemisphere and throughout the world, which led to its extremely high geopolitical significance. Thanks to the Panama Canal, the sea route from New York to San Francisco was reduced from 22.5 thousand km to 9.5 thousand km.

The incredible complexity and scale of the project for that time is captured in a photo from 1912

The sea route from New York to San Francisco was reduced from 22.5 thousand km to 9.5 thousand km

The canal allows the most vessels to pass through it. different types- from private yachts to huge tankers and container ships. The maximum size of a ship that can transit the Panama Canal has become a de facto standard in shipbuilding, called Panamax.

The Panamax standard assumes maximum vessel dimensions of 965 feet (294.13 m) long, 106 feet (32.31 m) beam, and 39.5 feet (12.04 m) loading depth.

Vessels are guided through the Panama Canal by the Panama Canal Pilot Service. The average time for a vessel to pass through the canal is 9 hours, the minimum is 4 hours 10 minutes. Maximum throughput- 48 ships per day. Every year, about 14 thousand ships carrying about 280 million tons of cargo pass through the canal structures. (5% of global ocean freight). The canal is overloaded, so the queue to pass through it is sold at auction. The total fee for a vessel's passage through the canal can reach $400,000. By 2002, more than 800 thousand vessels had already used the canal’s services.

In December 2010, the canal was closed to ships for the first time in 95 years due to bad weather and rising water levels as a result of incessant rainfall.

In July 2014, the final route of the Nicaraguan Canal was announced, corresponding in width and depth to the parameters of modern ships and designed to become an alternative to the Panama Canal.

Proposed Nicaraguan Canal routes. The canal under construction will run along the green line

To visit Panama and not see the Panama Canal means not to have visited Panama. Today we talk about this attraction, and also share tips on how best to visit the Panama Canal on your own.

Panama Canal. Data.

For those who have never been particularly interested in the Panama Canal, it may seem like a small stream that connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. In fact, its length is about 80 km, which ships travel in 8-10 hours. Until recently, the width of the canal at the lock points was 34 meters. Thanks to the opening of a new branch in June 2016, the canal can now accommodate ships with a width of 55 meters and a depth below the waterline of more than 18 meters.
The canal consists of a system of locks (gates), which, if moving from the Caribbean Sea, first raises the water level by 26 meters above sea level in the Gatun area. After passing the main part, the water level is lowered using the Pedro Miguel lock (9.5 meters) and the Miraflores lock system (two chambers 16.5 meters).

The electrification of the site was carried out, among other things, with the help of two hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of 22.5 and 36 MW, located in Gatun and near Miraflores.

History of the construction of the Panama Canal.

The idea of ​​​​building a canal was first mentioned in the 16th century, and the history of its approval and construction was accompanied by political and economic confrontations in countries such as the USA, Spain, Great Britain, and France. Now they are going to dig a similar canal through Nicaragua: the project was adopted relatively recently - in 2014.
In 1879, the developer of the Suez Canal, French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps, began a campaign to build the Panama Canal. As a result, the French arrived in Panama in 1881 and began excavation work in 1882. Thus, 1882 can be considered the beginning of the construction of the canal.

The original plan was to build a canal 22 meters wide and 9 meters deep. Interestingly, the project did not include a lock system: the canal was supposed to naturally connect two oceans to the same sea level, which meant cutting off the isthmus and deep excavations. In addition to engineering difficulties, construction was complicated by the yellow fever epidemic, the financial crisis, and a legal scandal in which many politicians, including Ferdinand, were accused of accepting bribes.
As a result, the project was bought by the Americans, who made the key decision to use a lock system to reduce excavation work. Over seven years, 153 million cubic meters of earth were excavated in dry mining. The work also included drilling and blasting rocks.
To increase the depth of the channel, we used various techniques, including ships. This vessel was specially built in Scotland and began work in 1912. A chain with 52 buckets made it possible to excavate more than 1,000 tons of material in less than 40 minutes.

On October 10, 1913, US President Wilson ordered by telegraph to blow up the remaining small part of the land that separated the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The first ship to pass through the canal while still in operation was the floating crane Alexandre Le Vallee. This happened in January 1914. In August of the same year, its path was repeated by the cargo and passenger ship Cristobal. The official opening of the canal is considered to be August 15, 1914 and the passage of the cargo ship Ancon.

How to visit the Panama Canal.

Few people know that the passage of ships through the Panama Canal can be seen in several places: in Colon (Gatun Gate) and near Panama City (Miraflores Gate). Gatun has the advantage of being cheap to visit and lacking crowds of tourists. On the other hand, these advantages are completely outweighed by the disadvantages. Colon is one of the most dangerous cities in Panama. We are often skeptical about horror stories from Lonely Planet, where it is also written that you should not go to Colon, so at first we planned to visit it. However, after talking with the locals, we abandoned this idea. Colon turned out to be really dangerous, and we were told that even at the station there was a possibility of robbery. “It depends,” summed up one of our random local fellow travelers.
If you have plenty of time in Panama, you can take a boat trip through the canal. Eat commercial offers, but you can also volunteer on a yacht waiting in line. There are special sites where yacht owners look for a crew. According to Panamanian law, any ship must have four mooring crew, and their services are not cheap - from $50, so captains and owners are looking for adventure seekers. You can google Panama canal transit line handlers or look at the website http://www.panlinehandler.com/. We even had the option of couchsurfing on such a yacht, but, unfortunately, it didn’t suit the dates at all.

There is also the opportunity to ride a special train along the canal. It’s hard for us to say what you can see from him there to pay pretty decent money.

In the end, we went, like most, to Miraflores. You can get there from Albrook station, which is probably familiar to tourists arriving in Panama City on their own. The bus to Miraflores leaves every hour at 00 (exit F), and, lo and behold, the sign says Miraflores (usually logistics in Panama are not so simple). The bus takes you all the way to the Miraflores complex; entrance tickets cost $15 for non-residents and $10 for children.

Despite technical feasibility simultaneous servicing of ships in two directions, in the morning the ships go towards the Caribbean Sea (Atlantic), and in the afternoon back towards the Pacific Ocean. The channel is recommended for visiting from 9.00 to 11.00 and then after 13.00. We were late for the first period due to problems with breakfast at the hotel. We managed to pass the time a little by visiting the museum and watching a short film about the construction of the Panama Canal. The session in English starts every hour at 50, in Spanish – at 20 minutes.
The museum complex includes a souvenir shop, as well as a museum with an exhibition, where the most interesting was the video of the passage of the canal from the captain's wheelhouse.

Despite all this entertainment, we had to wait about three more hours for the ships to pass. Meanwhile, local personnel, using loudspeakers, told some facts about the canal, and also informed about the probable time of arrival of the ship. In general, at first it was interesting to listen to, and people with a bullhorn said that it was not the season, but then this record began to really tire and irritate. In our case, the movement was supposed to start at two o’clock, but in fact it happened even later – at three.

There are several opportunities to watch ships. Firstly, there is a large deck on the 4th floor. From there we watched as pleasure boats with tourists who paid $150 per ticket passed the canal from the middle.

On the second floor there is a small amphitheater with stadium-style seating. We had to wait another three hours, so we landed there. True, we were tormented by doubts whether everyone would sit so decorously during the passage of the ships. The center workers assured that this would be the case. Naive... Closer to three people kept coming and coming, and just stood near the fence.

Just before their arrival, workers with a bullhorn tried to reason with the people, but after unsuccessful attempts they quickly retreated. We deliberately took places on the edge so that in case of emergency we would have a view towards the approaching ships. But the smartest spectators stood on the steps and could not be moved. So every now and then I had to get up to take a photo or even go downstairs and brazenly squeeze through.

Maybe, the best option For observations, it is worth recognizing the cafe on the third floor. But we don’t know how to book a table and wait, and what the general policy is in this regard.
And then everyone perked up. In the speakers, we heard about the approaching ship. Everyone started clicking their cameras despite the fact that the ship still had a long way to go.

The passage of the ship is certainly interesting and fascinating. The ship enters the lock chamber and stops, after which the first gate closes behind it.

Then the water is pumped out of the chamber, and the ship quietly sinks with it. From the photographs you can see for yourself the initial and final results. As we have already written, the total drop at this gate is 16.5 meters.

When the water level in the two chambers becomes the same, the gate in front of the ship opens and it moves into the next chamber. Locomotives or “mules”, as they are called here, help the ship move inside the canal.

The ship passes the last gate far enough from the observation deck, according to the same scenario as the previous gate, so almost no one paid attention to it.

Thus, we were able to see how the three ships sailed. It was impressive. We spent almost a day here and got a little tired from the heat, the waiting, the people who couldn't sit still, but it was still worth it. We went to Panama Bay to have dinner by the ocean, and along the way we even managed to overtake a ship we were already familiar with.

Humanity is trying in every possible way to reshape the Earth for itself, and in the most literal sense. It does this in order to make its life as easy as possible. Connect two oceans and separate two continents? If it brings benefits, then “no question.”
No sooner said than done. This is how the famous Panama Canal appeared, connecting two oceans and separating two continents.

Naturally, it did not appear by magic, and not in a couple of days. How, when and why it was built, read on (keep in mind there is a lot of information, but it is really interesting).

The Panama Canal is a water bridge between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is located at the narrowest part of the Isthmus of Panama in Central America.

Panama Canal on the map

• Geographic coordinates of the central part (9.117934, -79.786942)
• The distance from the capital of Panama city... Panama is approximately 6 km. In fact, the Panama Canal is located in the southwestern part of the capital
• The nearest airport is Panama Pacifico (originally Aeropuerto Internacional Panama Pacifico) 5 kilometers southwest of the Pacific entrance to the canal

By connecting the oceans, the Panama Canal thereby separated two continents, North and South America. But let us note the extreme importance and benefit of this colossal structure for the entire world economy. The main purpose of the Panama Canal is to shorten intercontinental shipping routes.

General description of the design features of the channel

The canal uses a lock system with entry and exit gates. The locks function as water elevators: they lift ships from sea level (Pacific or Atlantic) to the level of Lake Gatun (26 meters above sea level). Then the ships pass along the Continental Divide and at the exit descend to ocean level, again using a lock.

Each lock bears the name of the city in which it was built: Gatun (on the Atlantic side) and Pedro Miguel and Miraflores (on the Pacific side).

The Panama Canal runs from the southeast, from the side of Limon Bay, which is part of the Caribbean Sea and, accordingly, the Atlantic Ocean, through the Gatun lock to the northwest to the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks and out into the Pacific Ocean.
The water used to raise and lower the ships at each lock comes from Lake Gatun under the influence of gravity. It enters the locks through a system of culverts that pass under the lock chambers from the side and central walls.

Lake Gatun is an artificial lake with an area of ​​430 square kilometers, formed as a result of the construction of the Gatun Dam. At one time it was the largest artificial reservoir in the world.

The narrowest part of the Panama Canal, the Culebra Cut, extends from the northern part of the Pedro Miguel Lock to the southern edge of Lake Gatun in Gamboa. This section of the path is approximately 13.7 kilometers long and is carved into the rocks and shale of the continental part of the Isthmus of Panama.

All channel gateways are double (one might say double-sided). Therefore, oncoming traffic of ships is possible along the canal, but, as a rule, both lock chambers allow ships to pass in the same direction. For the passage of ships, special railway tractors are used, which are nicknamed “mules”, by analogy with the animals that used to pull ships along rivers.

The standard transit time for a ship through the Panama Canal is usually 8-10 hours, but in case of emergency, the time can be significantly reduced. The fastest transit through the canal was made by the US Navy ship Pegasus, which transited the canal from Miraflores Lock to Gatun Lock in 2 hours 41 minutes in June 1979.

Ships from all over the world pass through the Panama Canal every day. Every year the canal is used by 13 to 18 thousand ships. The Panama Canal serves 144 shipping routes connecting 160 countries and approximately 1,700 ports in the world.

The canal operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing unconditional transit to ships from all countries of the world. At the end of 2010, the Panama Canal was closed to ships due to heavy rainfall and rising water levels. This is the first time such an event has occurred in 95 years.

About 10,000 people work in all services of the Panama Canal.

Some more numbers from the Panama Canal

The length of the Panama Canal is 77.1 kilometers. But the total length of the path from the deep waters of the Atlantic to the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean is 80 kilometers. Therefore, its length is often indicated plus/minus a couple of kilometers.
The total width in the area of ​​the locks reaches 150 meters (meaning the width of the structural artificial part, excluding the width of artificial lakes).

The original Panama Canal

Initially, the channel parameters were as follows.
Dimensions of the locks: width 33.53 meters, length 304.8 meters. Depth 12.5 meters. The volume of water in the lock chamber is approximately 101,000 cubic meters.

The maximum size of a ship capable of crossing the Panama Canal was 32.3 meters wide and 294.1 meters long. The draft was no more than 12 meters and the height from the waterline to the highest point of the ship should not exceed 62.5 meters.

It is noteworthy that these dimensions became one of the shipbuilding standards, named “Panamax” (in the original Panamax) in honor of the canal.

Since progress does not stand still, and the volume of trade is increasing, at the end of 2006 a decision was made to expand the channel. Moreover, this decision was made by the people of the country in a referendum, where about 80% of the population was in favor of expansion. And again it took 9 whole years to complete the work. The work was carried out, and in 2016 the canal's capacity increased to 18,800 ships per year.

Modernizing the canal will increase cash receipts to the country's budget from 2.5 to 4.3 billion dollars.

What was included in the project?
The main feature of the modern Panama Canal is the increase in capacity and the ability to accommodate ships of even greater capacity. Shipyards already use the terms New Panamax or Post Panamax (in the original, New Panamax and Post Panamax, respectively), denoting a type of ship approximately one and a half times larger than the Panamax standard.

The airlock chambers have been significantly enlarged. They are now 427 meters (1,400 ft) long and 55 meters (180 ft) wide and 18.3 meters (60 ft) deep. They accommodate vessels up to 49 meters (160 ft) wide and up to 366 meters (1,200 ft) long with a maximum draft of 15 meters (50 ft) or carrying cargo up to 170,000 DWT and 12,000 TEU.

DWT is the total weight of the ship (measured in tons), including cargo, fuel and all ship stores.
TEU is the standard volume of a 20-foot sea container.

The design of the new locks includes the use of reinforced steel, which was not used in the construction of the previous Panama Canal. The construction of the new lock complexes required a total of 4.4 million cubic meters of concrete.

The gates used on the modern Panama Canal were built by subcontractor Cimolai SpA in Italy at seven different factories in northeastern Italy. The gates have different sizes depending on their location in the airlock chamber. All of them are 57.6 meters long, 8-10 meters wide, and the height depends on the location, ranging from 22.3 to 33.04 meters. Weight ranges from 2100 to 4200 tons.
They cost $547.7 million, including delivery. The total cost of the canal expansion work is estimated at $5.25 billion.

The first ceremonial passage of the Chinese super-container ship COSCO SHIPPING through the updated channel took place on June 26, 2016. This date is considered the actual commissioning of the modern Panama Canal.

COSCO SHIPPING PANAMA is the first ship to pass through the updated Panama Canal

COSCO SHIPPING has a length of 300 meters and a width of 48 meters. The total tonnage is 93,702 tons.

But the photo below shows the 2000th passage through the canal of the New Panamax class vessel Cosco Yantian.
The vessel has a length of 351 meters and a beam of 43 meters, with a total TEU of 9,504.

Cosco Yantian - 2000th New Panamax class ship passing through the canal

And this is the container ship Theodore Roosevelt, 365.9 meters long and 48.2 meters wide.

Theodore Roosevelt in the Panama Canal

The first cruise ship to sail through the renovated Panama Canal is called the Disney Wonder.

Disney Wonder is the first cruise ship in the renovated Panama Canal

History of the Panama Canal

In 1513, Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa became the first European to discover that the Isthmus of Panama is the narrowest point separating the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. But then there was no trace of the idea of ​​a channel.

The first mention of a passage through the Isthmus of Panama dates back to 1534, when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, ordered the shortest route to be found between Spain and Peru. This route would have given the Spanish a military advantage over the Portuguese. Naturally, in those days there was neither knowledge nor technology for such construction. Therefore, the idea remained an idea.

During an expedition from 1788 to 1793, Italian explorer Alessandro Malaspina was already developing plans for a canal. But it didn’t get to the point of construction.

The first attempt at real construction was made by the French in 1879. Such famous people as Ferdinand de Lesseps (under his leadership the equally famous Suez Canal was built) and Alexander Gustave Eiffel (he created the modern symbol of Paris in particular and France in general) took part in the development.
The Panama Canal, like the Suez Canal, was planned to be built at sea level. That is, the gateway system was not considered at all. This, and a number of other factors, ultimately led to the failure of the entire project.

So, we managed to extract money from the French government, and work even began. But a little later it turned out that only a third of the money was actually spent on construction. The rest went to bribes or were stolen. Malaria and fever killed workers en masse. According to some data, approximately 22,000 (!!!) people died from diseases (mostly) and accidents.

As a result of a series of financial scandals, the construction company went bankrupt. Lesseps himself and Eiffel were accused of fraud and embezzlement. Ferdinand Lesseps, unable to withstand pressure from all sides, died in 1894 without completing the construction of his second great canal. The work was frozen. The scandals surrounding the Panama Canal were so large that at that time the word “Panama” became synonymous with large-scale corruption and fraud.

At the same time, the United States was considering the possibility of building an interoceanic canal through Nicaragua.
For almost the entire 19th century, two canal options were considered, the Nicaraguan and Panama canals. But in the end the decision was made in favor of the latter.

How to appropriate the Panama Canal

The situation developed in such a way that the United States at that time was more interested in the Nicaraguan version of the canal, and formally they did not need the Panama canal.

The French could no longer continue construction. The Panama Canal has become for them the notorious “suitcase without a handle,” and it’s hard to carry and it’s a shame to throw it away.

This is where the United States comes into the big game. They are promoting the idea of ​​the Nicaraguan Canal in every possible way, thereby reducing the value of the Panama Canal. In the end, the Americans buy the rights and virtually everything related to the channel from France for $40 million. According to the current agreement with Colombia, which then owned the state of Panama, all equipment and all work carried out, including the canal, became the property of the country if the canal did not start working before 1904. And, of course, he couldn’t make any money. The only way to take possession of the canal was the separation of Panama from Colombia. This would suit both France and the USA. France gets the money, the US gets the channel, and Colombia gets the donut hole.

The decision as ancient as the world “divide and conquer” was made. The Americans saw a lack of democracy and oppression of human rights in the state of Panama (at that time still belonging to Colombia). The US fleet immediately arrived in the coastal waters, and crowds of civic activists took to the streets of Panamanian cities, who suddenly suddenly wanted freedom and lace pantaloons.

Wow! On November 4, 1903, a new “independent” state appeared on the world map, which was directly called the “Independent Republic of Panama.” Just 2 weeks later, Panama “independently” signs an agreement with the United States, according to which virtually all rights to the canal and adjacent territories are transferred to the Americans.

Construction continued under the leadership of the American Department of Defense, and Panama de facto became a protectorate of the United States. By the way, disputes on this matter with Colombia were resolved only by 1921.

Completion of the Panama Canal

It must be said that the Americans approached the issue of building the canal with their characteristic enthusiasm and pragmatism. To begin with, they secured the surrounding area as much as possible, cut down and burned more than 30 km2 of thickets, drained about a hundred hectares of swamps, and dug approximately 80 kilometers of drainage ditches. The icing on the cake was the spraying of about 600 thousand liters of special liquids that killed mosquitoes, mosquitoes and their larvae in the places of their greatest accumulation and reproduction. As a result of these actions, malaria and fever subsided, and construction work resumed in 1904.

The idea of ​​a lock-free canal was abandoned and they decided to use a system of artificial lakes and locks. That is why it was possible to significantly reduce the excavation work and speed up the entire construction process. The work lasted for 9 years. The final stage was the ceremonial undermining of the last barrier in the area of ​​​​the city of Gamboa. On October 10, 1913, Thomas Woodrow Wilson (then US President) carried out this explosion using a telegraph directly from Washington, pressing a symbolic button in the presence of members of the government. The construction of the canal has officially been completed.

The first ship, the Cristobal, passed through the Panama Canal on August 3, 1914. The canal was officially opened on August 15, 1914, with the passage of the ship SS Ancon.

Unfortunately, during the construction of the canal by the Americans, casualties could not be avoided. By various reasons 5609 people died.

Who owns the Panama Canal

As you already know, Panama has transferred all powers over the canal to the United States. To strengthen the canal's defenses, the United States even purchased several nearby islands from Nicaragua, Denmark and Colombia.

But later, various tensions began to arise regarding the channel between the Panamanian and US authorities. There were even recorded uprisings in this small country demanding control of the canal be given to Panama. Despite the fact that many politicians in the United States were against it, on September 7, 1977, in the capital of the United States, the leaders of the two countries entered into an agreement to transfer control of the canal to the government of Panama starting in 2000. This decision was ratified by the American Congress, and now the Panama Canal belongs to the country in which it was built.

Cost of passage through the channel

Naturally, a fee is charged for the passage of a vessel through the Panama Canal, which depends on the size of the ship, its cargo, displacement and a number of other factors.
The rate for transporting cargo by large container ships is $49 per 1 TEU. Plus, there is a bet on the passage of the ship itself.

Payment for passage also depends on the length of the vessel and starts from $500. This is for vessels up to 50 feet (just over 15 meters) in length. Vessels up to 100 feet in length (approximately 30.5 meters) are available for $2,000. For ships over 100 feet in length, rates start at $2,500.

There is also a rate for each ton of ship displacement. It starts at $2.95 and goes down slightly for larger ships.

We will not describe in detail all the prices for the passage of ships from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, since it depends on many factors. In addition, all cost information is available on the official website of the Panama Canal https://www.pancanal.com. Let's just say that sometimes the amount reaches $500,000 for one huge container ship.
The record holder for the cheapest passage on the canal was Richard Halliburton in 1928. It only cost him 36 cents.

Today, the Panama Canal is not only a valuable interoceanic corridor and an engineering marvel, but also a popular tourist attraction. In the cities adjacent to the locks there are museums dedicated to the history of the canal and observation decks from which you can watch its titanic work.

1. Over its lifetime, the Panama Canal has helped reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 650 million tons. The canal expansion will reduce emissions by another 160 million tons over the next 10 years. This occurs due to the reduction in the length of sea routes, and, accordingly, negative influence sea ​​vessels on ecology
2. American spending from 1904 to 1914 amounted to US$375,000,000. This is the largest amount spent by the United States government on any project to date. Total expenditures by France and America amounted to US$639,000,000
3. During construction, more than 130 million cubic meters of soil were excavated (23 million of them were dug by the French at the very beginning)
4. It is estimated that more than 80,000 people were involved in construction, with many of the workers coming from India. About 28,000 people died during the work
5. The Panama Canal was visited by many film and television stars. In particular Aerosmith, Usher and Sean Connery
6. On September 4, 2010, Fortune Plum became the millionth ship to pass through the Panama Canal.
7. The canal shortened the sea route from New York to Los Angeles by almost 2.5 times, from 22,000 to 9,000 km
8. In the summer of 2014, the final route of the Nicaraguan Canal was developed, which should become a competitor to the Panama Canal, but construction is still only in the draft

Characteristic Length 81.6 km Watercourse Entrance Pacific Ocean Estuary Atlantic Ocean Panama Canal at Wikimedia Commons

Panama Canal- a shipping canal connecting the Gulf of Panama of the Pacific Ocean with the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, located on the Isthmus of Panama in the territory of the state of Panama. Length - 81.6 km, including 65.2 km on land and 16.4 km along the bottom of the Panama and Limon bays (for the passage of ships to deep water).

The construction of the Panama Canal was one of the largest and most complex construction projects undertaken by mankind. The Panama Canal had an invaluable influence on the development of shipping and the economy as a whole in the Western Hemisphere and throughout the Earth, which determined its extremely high geopolitical significance. Thanks to the Panama Canal, the sea route from New York to San Francisco was reduced from 22.5 thousand km to 9.5 thousand km.

The canal allows vessels of all types to pass through, from private yachts to huge tankers and container ships. The maximum size of a ship that can transit the Panama Canal has become a de facto standard in shipbuilding, called Panamax.

Vessels are guided through the Panama Canal by the Panama Canal Pilot Service. The average time for a vessel to pass through the canal is 9 hours, the minimum is 4 hours 10 minutes. Maximum throughput is 48 vessels per day. Every year, about 17.5 thousand ships carrying more than 203 million tons of cargo pass through the canal structures. By 2002, more than 800 thousand vessels had already used the canal’s services.

In December 2010, the canal was closed to ships for the first time in 95 years due to bad weather and rising water levels as a result of incessant rainfall.

Story

Construction of the canal in 1888

Panama Canal Promotion

The original plan to build a canal connecting the two oceans dates back to the 16th century, but King Philip II of Spain banned the consideration of such projects, since “what God has united, man cannot separate.” In the 1790s. the canal project was developed by Alessandro Malaspina, his team even surveyed the canal construction route.

With the growth of international trade, interest in the canal revived by the early 19th century; in 1814, Spain passed a law establishing an interoceanic canal; in 1825, a similar decision was made by the Congress of Central American States. The discovery of gold in California caused increased interest in the canal problem in the United States, and in 1848, under the Hayes Treaty, the United States received a monopoly right in Nicaragua to build all types of interoceanic communication routes. Great Britain, whose possessions adjoined Nicaragua, hastened to curb the expansion of the United States by concluding with them the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty in 1850 on a joint guarantee of the neutrality and security of the future interoceanic canal. Throughout the 19th century, two main options for the direction of the canal appeared: through Nicaragua (see Nicaraguan Canal) and through Panama.

However, the first attempt to build a shipping route on the Isthmus of Panama dates back only to 1879. The initiative in developing the Panama version was seized by the French. At that time, the attention of the United States was mainly attracted to the Nicaraguan variant. In 1879, in Paris, under the chairmanship of the head of the construction of the Suez Canal, Ferdinand Lesseps, the “General Interoceanic Canal Company” was created, the shares of which were purchased by more than 800 thousand people; the company bought from the engineer Wise for 10 million francs the concession for the construction of the Panama Canal, which he received from the Colombian government in 1878. An international congress convened before the formation of the Panama Canal Company favored a sea-level canal; the cost of the work was planned at 658 million francs and the volume of excavation work was envisaged at 157 million cubic meters. yards In 1887, the idea of ​​a lockless canal had to be abandoned in order to reduce the amount of work, since the company’s funds (1.5 billion francs) were spent mainly on bribing newspapers and members of parliament; only a third was spent on work. As a result, the company stopped making payments on December 14, 1888, and work was soon stopped.

Spanish canal workers, early 1900s

Construction of the canal, 1911

In 1902, the US Congress passed a law requiring the President of the United States to purchase the property of the canal company, shares of the Panama Company railroad and a strip of land 10 miles wide from Colombia for the construction, maintenance and operation of the canal with the right of jurisdiction over the said territory. On January 22, 1903, Colombian Ambassador Thomas Herran and US Secretary of State John Hay signed an agreement under which Colombia leased a strip of land to the United States for a period of 100 years for the construction of the Panama Canal. For the sanction of the government of Colombia, which owned the territory of Panama, to transfer the concession, the United States agreed to pay a lump sum of $10 million and then, after 9 years, $250 thousand annually while maintaining Colombia's sovereignty over the Panama Canal zone. These conditions were formalized in the Hay-Herran Treaty, but the Colombian Senate on August 12, 1903 refused to ratify it, since the concession agreement with the French company expired only in 1904, and according to its terms, if the canal did not begin to function by that time, it was Undoubtedly, all the structures erected by the company were transferred free of charge to Colombia. Interested parties in France and the United States now saw the only way out for the state of Panama to break away from Colombia and, as an independent state, formalize the legal transfer of the concession to the United States. The Frenchman Bunau-Varilla led the separatist movement and, with the assistance of the US navy, carried out the secession of Panama on November 4, 1903; On November 18, on behalf of the “Independent Republic of Panama,” he signed a treaty with the United States modeled on the Hay-Herran Treaty. The US conflict with Colombia was resolved only in 1921.

Under the Treaty of 1903, the United States received in perpetual possession "a zone of land and lands under water for the construction, maintenance, operation, sanitary order and protection of the said canal," as provided for in Article 2 of the Treaty. Article 3 gave the United States all rights as if it were the sovereign of the territory. In addition, the United States became the guarantor of the independence of the Republic of Panama and received the right to maintain order in the cities of Panama and Colon in the event that the Republic of Panama, in the opinion of the United States, was unable to maintain order. The economic side of the Treaty repeated the Hay-Herran Treaty, which was not ratified by Colombia. On behalf of Panama, the agreement was signed by French citizen Philippe Bunau-Varilla 2 hours before the official Panama delegation arrived in Washington.

Construction began under the auspices of the US Department of Defense, and Panama actually became a US protectorate.

In 1900, in Havana, Walter Reed and James Carroll discovered that yellow fever was transmitted by mosquitoes, and proposed a method to reduce the danger of yellow fever by destroying mosquito habitats. Remembering the failure of the first attempt to dig a canal, the Americans sent out a mosquito-hunting campaign Aedes aegypti and malarial mosquitoes - carriers of yellow fever and malaria, respectively - a large expedition led by William Crawford Gorgas - 1,500 people. The scale of their activities is eloquently demonstrated by published data: it was necessary to cut down and burn 30 square kilometers of bushes and small trees, mow and burn grass over the same area, drain a million square yards (80 hectares) of swamps, dig 250 thousand feet (76 km) of drainage ditches and restore 2 million feet (600 km) of old ditches, spray 150 thousand gallons (570 thousand liters) of oils that kill mosquito larvae in breeding areas. As shortly before in Havana, this bore fruit: the prevalence of yellow fever and malaria decreased so much that the diseases ceased to be a hindering factor.

Panama Canal (USA), 1940

The US War Department began construction of the canal in 1904. John Frank Stevens became the canal's chief engineer. This time the right project was chosen: locks and lakes. Construction took 10 years, $400 million and 70 thousand workers, of whom, according to American data, about 5,600 people died. On the morning of October 13, 1913, US President Thomas Woodrow Wilson, in the presence of numerous high-ranking guests gathered at the White House, walked to a special table and pressed a gilded button with a majestic gesture. And at the same instant, a powerful explosion shook the humid tropical air four thousand kilometers from Washington, on the Isthmus of Panama. Twenty thousand kilograms of dynamite destroyed the last barrier separating the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans near the city of Gamboa. A four thousand kilometer long cable, specially laid from the jumper at Gamboa to the White House, obediently carried out the will of the president.

The first ship (an ocean-going steamer) passed through the canal on August 15, 1914, but a large landslide in October prevented the opening of traffic in the same 1914. To strengthen the defense on the approaches to the canal, the United States acquired nearby islands: the Pacific islands were received from Panama - Margarita, Perque, Naos, Culebra and Flamenco; The islands of St. were purchased from Denmark in 1917 for 25 million dollars. John, St. Cross and St. Thomas; in Nicaragua in 1928 - the Bread Islands and in Colombia - the islands of Roncador and Quitasueño. The official opening of the canal took place only on June 12, 1920.

In August 1945, Japan planned to bomb the canal.

The Panama Canal was controlled by the United States until December 31, 1999, after which it was transferred to the government of Panama.

Channel configuration

Due to the S-shape of the Isthmus of Panama, the Panama Canal is directed from the southwest (Pacific Ocean side) to the northeast (Atlantic Ocean). The canal consists of two artificial lakes connected by canals and deepened river beds, as well as two groups of locks. From the Atlantic Ocean, the three-chamber gateway “Gatun” connects Limon Bay with Lake Gatun. On the Pacific side, the two-chamber Miraflores lock and the single-chamber Pedro Miguel lock connect Panama Bay with the canal bed. The difference between the level of the World Ocean and the level of the Panama Canal is 25.9 meters. Additional water supply is provided by another reservoir - Lake Alajuela

Huge ferry passing through the canal

All canal locks are double-threaded, which ensures the possibility of simultaneous oncoming traffic of ships along the canal. In practice, however, usually both lines of locks work to allow ships through in the same direction. Dimensions of the lock chambers: width 33.53 m, length 304.8 m, minimum depth 12.55 m. Each chamber holds 101 thousand m³ of water. Guidance of large vessels through locks is provided by special small electric-powered railway locomotives called mules(in honor of mules, which previously served as the main draft force for moving barges along rivers).

The canal administration has established the following passage dimensions for vessels: length - 294.1 m (965 ft), width - 32.3 m (106 ft), draft - 12 m (39.5 ft) in fresh tropical water, height - 57, 91 m (190 ft), measured from the waterline to the highest point of the vessel. In exceptional cases, vessels may be granted permission to pass at a height of 62.5 m (205 ft), provided that the passage is in low water.

Along its length, the canal is crossed by three bridges. A road and a railway have been laid along the canal route between the cities of Panama and Colon.

Payments for channel passage

Canal tolls are officially collected by the Panama Canal Authority, a government agency of Panama. Duty rates are set depending on the type of vessel.

The amount of duty for container ships is calculated depending on their capacity, expressed in TEU (the volume of a standard 20-foot container). From May 1, 2006, the rate is $49 per TEU.

The amount of payment from other vessels is determined depending on their displacement. For 2006, the fee rate was $2.96 per ton up to 10 thousand tons, $2.90 for each of the subsequent 10 thousand tons and $2.85 for each subsequent ton.

The amount of dues for small vessels is calculated based on their length:

The future of the channel

On October 23, 2006, the results of the referendum on the expansion of the Panama Canal were summed up in Panama, which was supported by 79% of the population. The adoption of this plan was facilitated by the Chinese business structures that manage the channel. By 2014, it will be modernized and will be able to handle oil tankers with a displacement of more than 130 thousand tons, which will significantly reduce the time it takes to deliver Venezuelan oil to China. Just by this time, Venezuela promises to increase oil supplies to China to 1 million barrels per day.

During the reconstruction it is planned to carry out dredging work and build new, wider locks. As a result, by 2014-2015, supertankers with a displacement of up to 170 thousand tons will be able to pass through the Panama Canal. The maximum throughput of the canal will increase to 18.8 thousand vessels per year, cargo turnover - to 600 million PCUMS. The reconstruction will cost $5.25 billion. Thanks to it, Panama's budget is expected to receive $2.5 billion in annual revenue from the canal by 2015, and by 2025, revenue will increase to $4.3 billion.

The start of work on the construction of the third group of locks is scheduled for August 25, 2009. The Panama Canal Authority entrusted this work to the consortium GUPC (Grupo Unidos por el Canal), which won the construction tender on July 15, 2008, offering to carry out the necessary work for $3 billion 118 million and complete construction by mid-2014. The main member of this consortium is the Spanish company Sacyr Vallehermoso.

Alternative

The territory of Nicaragua was considered as an alternative route for the interoceanic canal. The first preliminary plans for the Nicaraguan Canal arose in the 17th century.

see also

Notes

Links

• Between two oceans: Poseidon's Gate on the website of the magazine "Popular Mechanics"
• Official website of the Panama Canal Authority (Spanish) (English)
• Panama Canal webcams

The Panama Canal is a shipping canal connecting the Bay of Panama with the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The Panama Canal is a route for ships carrying global cargo. On the world map it connects the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic and Caribbean Seas.

Thanks to the construction of the canal, ships do not bypass Latin America to get to San Francisco. The route from New York is less than 10 thousand km. The Panama Canal (located in Panama on the world map) serves for yachts, boats and large tankers. Its width is a standard in shipbuilding.

Vessels that are not large enough to pass through the canal bypass South America. It handles up to 48 tankers per day; completion takes 9 hours (minimum 4 hours); More than 10 thousand ships pass annually.

The first person to notice that a small isthmus separates two oceans was the Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa in the 16th century. The idea of ​​​​creating a water artery did not arise then.

Start of construction

In 1534, by order of the King of Spain, Charles V, a shortcut was discovered between the countries of Spain and Peru. This was beneficial for the Spaniards during the war. Due to undeveloped technology and knowledge in the 16th century. construction was not carried out. In the 18th century A researcher from Italy, Alesandro Malaspina, had a plan to create a canal, but it was not started.

In 1879, the French laid the foundation for the canal. Ferdinand de Lesseps and Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (creator of the Eiffel Tower) started the work. The French government allocated cash, but a third of them were spent for their intended purpose; the rest was plundered.

At the start of work, it was decided to build the canal at sea level; the idea of ​​​​building locks was rejected, which was one of the reasons for the failure of the project.

More than 20 thousand workers died from diseases and tragic accidents. Work was suspended. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel and Ferdinand de Lesseps were accused of embezzlement of material assets. The latter died from attacks and mental disorders in 1894.

Late 19th – early 20th century

Throughout the 19th century, the United States considered the construction of the Panama or Nicaraguan canals: the implementation of the latter project seemed more profitable. France did not have the opportunity to continue creating the canal, so the American government bought the rights, equipment and work performed for $40 thousand.

The only method to obtain the canal is Panama's independence from Colombia.

In the fall of 1903, US ships appear in Colombian waters, and the streets are filled with civic activists advocating for sovereignty. On November 4, the Independent Republic of Panama came into existence. whose authorities give the riverbed and adjacent lands to the American government.

Construction began with the preparation of the nearby territory: the Americans drained the swamps, cut down the thickets, destroyed insects and their larvae. The risk of fever was reduced to 2%, work began in 1904. The process of creating the canal accelerated as American builders began by constructing locks and reservoirs.

US President Thomas Woodrow Wilson completed the construction by pressing a button to blow up the last barrier near the village of Gamboa on October 10, 1913. The work lasted 9 years. The Panama Canal (on the world map flowing into the Atlantic Ocean) received the ship Cristobal on August 3, 1914.

Transfer of control to the Panamanian government

After the channel's discovery, American and Panamanian authorities argued over ownership. In the latter, there were uprisings when the authorities were not allowed to hang the Panamanian flag next to the American one on the riverbed. The Panamanian government temporarily cut off relations with America.

History of the Panama Canal:

In 1977, US President Jimmy Carter and General Omar Torrijos signed a document that transferred control to Panama from 2000. American politicians expressed dissatisfaction, but the US Senate gave the agreement legal force. The US owned the canal until December 31, 1999, and then transferred it to Panama.

Current status

Today the canal is owned by Panama. It has been modernized, expanded and deepened. The canal authority charges container ships a toll. The cost of transit is determined by the length of the vessel, displacement, and cargo transported. The cost of transportation for a large ship is $49 per 1 TEU since 2006.

The passage of the vessel itself is paid additionally.

For others, the ship's displacement affects the amount of payment:

• 1 t – 10000 t – $2.96;
• each of the next 10 thousand tons – $2.90;
• each subsequent ton is $2.85.

Length is a determining factor for small ships:

Length	Bid
≤ 14 m	$500
14 m–28 m	$750
28 m–36 m	$2000
≥36 m	$2500

The passage of one huge container ship can cost half a million dollars. The cheapest freight was 36 cents to Richard Halliburton in 1928.

The Panama Canal on the world map connects the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean passing through the Caribbean Sea

The Panama Canal is one of the wonders created by man, a tourist site, and not just an isthmus connecting 2 oceans. Museums have been built in cities located near the locks. Contains exhibits and documents telling about the process of creating the water artery. Near the canal, platforms have been built from which the operation of the sea route can be observed.

Channel configuration

The shape of the channel is similar to the letter “S”. It consists of lakes, deep rivers and ditches created by man. To level the water level of the canal, locks are needed (a difference of 26 m). As a ship passes along the sea route, the water in the canal increases or decreases.

The fairway is equipped with 2 groups of locks. They are double-stranded - they transport ships in both directions, but more often they go in one direction. The capacity of each lock is over 100 thousand cubic meters. m of water; width – 34 m, length – 304 m, depth – 12 m. A gateway of 3 chambers (“Gatun”) is located from the Atlantic, connecting Lake Gatun and Limon Bay.

Lifting of vessels is 26 m to the lake level. The gateway is equipped with a camera.

From the Pacific Ocean there is a gateway of 2 Miraflores chambers; connects the channel and Panama Bay. Equipped with a video camera that broadcasts the operation of the gateway via the Internet. Together with the Miraflores gateway, the Pedro Miguel gateway operates.

The Panama Canal on the world map is located near the settlements of the same name.

Work on the creation of the 3rd line of locks began 11 years ago in order to increase the transit of ships in the waterway. The length of the new structure is 427 m, width – 55 m, depth – 18 m. Since 2017, the canal has received twice as many ships and tankers.

Tourists watch the system work while traveling (a road and railway run parallel to the canal) or book a tour ($10). The Miraflores lock is open to travelers. They get to the building by taxi or bus for 25 cents. The excursion includes a visit to the museum and observation deck.

By speakerphone information about the operation of the system is announced.

Channel expansion

The need to expand the Panama Canal arose due to the increase in trade volumes. On October 23, 2006, as a result of a vote to expand the waterway, about 80% of Panamanians supported the plan. With control of the channel, Chinese business companies contributed to the development of the project.

In 2016, it became possible for oil tankers with a displacement of more than 100 thousand tons to pass through. The delivery time for oil from Venezuela to China has decreased, and the Venezuelan authorities' promises of supplies of about 1 million barrels per day have come true.

The reconstruction project involved: deepening the bottom, building additional locks, and increasing the number of ships passing through the waterway. After modernization, vessels with a displacement of about 150 thousand tons enter the fairway; the number of tankers and ships is 19 thousand ships per year.

The expansion plan cost $5 billion.

Changes in the riverbed have a positive effect on the country’s budget: by 2017, the profit amounted to $2.5 billion, by 2025 it will reach $4 billion. The Panamanian authorities entrusted the work to the community, the main participant of which was the Spanish enterprise. The start was planned for 2009; completion of construction – 2014

April 2015 – installation of the last locks, which meant the end of the reconstruction. The modernization of the fairway has been called historic by Panamanian authorities. June 26, 2016 – passage of a Chinese container ship through the updated waterway.

Interesting facts about the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal on the world map is a little visible isthmus between two continents; in 2014 it celebrated its centenary.

1. The event was timed to coincide with the release of a book about the construction of the sea route “You Are a Miracle”, the film “Stories about the Canal”, and a change in the logo of the operating company “Canal de Palma”. The name of the headdress - Panama - comes from the name of the channel.
2. The construction of a “twin” canal in Nicaragua has been approved. The lake through which the channel will be laid is a source of fresh water, so experts are concerned about its condition.
3. Currently, the Panama Canal receives the world's most important vessels, which generates income for Panama for its maintenance.
4. Waterway locks operate 24 hours a day With high level productivity, since the passage of large-capacity vessels occurs non-stop.
5. The Panama Canal is the longest man-made canal in the world.
6. The Panama Canal Universal Measurement System determines the cost of transporting cargo using a mathematical formula.
7. The total number of operating gateways is 12.
8. The continued safe passage of ships is governed by a number of rules. So, the agent announces the arrival of the tanker and prepares documents for registration. When approaching, the ship communicates with the coordinator through signal stations. Specialists conduct a preliminary inspection of the ship in the Pacific or Atlantic hangars. All elements of equipment and auxiliary vehicles must be in good working order so as not to delay transit.
9. The narrowest and steepest place in the riverbed is the Culebra notch.
10. The Panama Canal Authority gives the "Honorary Captain" award to those who pass through the waterway 100 times.

In 2015, the Russian commander of the ship, Anatoly Rubanov, was awarded the title.

The Panama Canal is one of the wonders of construction in the history of mankind. It connects the Caribbean Sea with the 2 largest oceans on the world map and makes a significant contribution to the economy of Panama. Article format:

E. Chaikina

Useful video about the Panama Canal