Table of Contents
The idea to dig a canal that would unite the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans was at last realized at that time when the finished Panama Canal has been presented to the public on August 15, 1914.
France was the first one that began the major construction project & the US continued & finished the work. The full cost of all project was $375 million & about 25,000 people gave their lives during making the effort to finish the project.
The channel was operated by the United States until December 31, 1999, at which time (in accordance with the agreement) it was adopted by the Panamanian government.
Transport in Panama Canal
On the end of September, a container ship of 351 m long & 43 m wide passed through the Panama Canal. Through the renewed locks & extended locks, since the opening after reconstruction, there have already been 2,000 transits voyages of Panama transport done: this is Neopanamax class vessels.
Panama Canal renovation
The extended canal allows changing vessels of larger routes on the main routes. Container ship Yantian of COSCO company, which transited the Canal from the Pacific to the Atlantic on September 26, had a total cargo capacity of 9.504 TEU. The vessel operates on the PEX2 route of the Ocean Alliance, which connects the East Coast of the Pacific, Asia & the Caribbean.
“Over 15 months of operation, the expanded channel has had an impact on world shipping. Ship owners & operators are reviewing shipping routes. Such confidence encourages us to continue improving service in order to attract even more customers & get even more impressive income for our country,” said Jorge Luis Kiyano, Administrator of the Panama Canal. The expanded Panama Canal opened on June 26, 2016. Container carriers are the most widely represented segment of vessels passing through the canal: their share is 54% of the total volume of transit. The second & third place for vessels for the transportation of liquefied petroleum & liquefied natural gas: they account for 29.2% & 8.6% of the total transit volume, respectively.
Cultural heritage
This may sound strange, but there are even Panama Canal movies. Various movies about Panama are documentary tapes that tell the story of this amazing element of Panama’s infrastructure.