ACP has more than 9,000 employees who work together to ensure that this inter-oceanic crossing is reliable, operated efficiently, and managed according to international safety standards. Photo by Seeta T. Shaw Roath

The Panama Canal set a new transit record in October 2007 as 164 ships spanning at least 900 feet in length passed through the Canal. The previous record was 159 in December 2006. Additionally, the daily average of ships 900 feet or more in length transiting the Canal in October also reached a record high of 5.29 per day as compared to the previous record of 5.17 per day, achieved in November 2006.

This record for transits of ships 900 feet or greater indicates the increased use by container vessels transporting goods through the Asia-United States East Coast trade route. Despite its record performance, the Canal has the potential to double its capacity through its $5.25 billion expansion program that will allow for post-Panamax ships that are even larger.

The Panama Canal is 50 miles long from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. It was carved through one of the narrowest saddles of the long, mountainous Isthmus that joins the North and South American continents. It takes about 8 to 10 hours for an average ship to pass through the canal.

Following the national referendum on the Expansion Program, which obtained majority approval October 22, 2006, environmental management is a major concern for the Panama Canal Authority (ACP). As such, over the past several months, the ACP has conducted public consultations with various stakeholders in the environmental community and completed an Environmental Impact Study (EIS), on how to manage and reduce the impact of expansion on the environment.

The international ports connected through the Panama Canal span the globe showing the Canal as a vital link in world trade. Photo by Seeta T. Shaw Roath

The National Environmental Authority of Panama (ANAM) has given its final approval in November 2007 for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the construction of the third set of locks.

The ACP and ANAM both agreed to monitor the developments of the projects of locks and ensure that the EIS guidelines are followed accordingly.

The ACP is an independent agency of the Government of Panama in charge of managing, operating and maintaining the Panama Canal. The agency was established in 1997, 20 years after the signing of the Panama Canal Treaty (Torrijos-Carter Treaty) between the Republic of Panama and the United States. The parties agreed on the Canal remaining open, safe and neutral, providing access to vessels of all nations.

The ACP assumed full responsibility for the Canal at noon on December 31, 1999. Its responsibility also includes the canal’s improvement and modernization along with related services.

Rodolfo Sabonge, Vice President of Research and Market Analysis, ACP. Photo by Seeta T. Shaw Roath

Rodolfo Sabonge, Vice President of research and market analysis for the ACP, said that after six years of research, and more than 120 studies validated by Panamanian and international experts and the country’s consensus, granted by the October 2006 referendum, all parties have confirmed that the expansion project is financially feasible and profitable.

“The third set of locks project is based on complete engineering designs and on six years of rigorous investigations by the marine industry, by marine transportation technology and on the current market of the Canal,” said Sabonge.

The creation of a third set of locks will not only double the capacity of the Canal but will have a direct impact on the economies of scale. Due to the proposed technologies, the new design will require less water than the existing lock system, saving as much as 60 percent of currently used water.

The expansion program involves deepening of the Canal’s Pacific and Atlantic entrances, deepening and widening of the navigational channels of Gatun Lake and deepening of the Gaillard Cut. Additionally, the expansion of the waterway will include the construction of a new set of locks and water-saving basins, and raising the water level of Gatun Lake to its maximum operational level.

The Panama Canal involves two locks’ lanes that operate as water lifts. These lifts elevate the ships 26 meters above sea level to the level of the Gatun Lake. The ships transit the channel at this level, and are lowered back to sea level at the opposite side of the isthmus. Ships enter at both the Pacific and Atlantic entrances.

In the Miraflores locks, vessels are lifted and lowered in three stages for 26 meters, which allows them to transit to and from the Pacific Ocean port of Balboa. Photo by Seeta T. Shaw Roath

The Canal is expected to surpass its maximum sustainable capacity between 2009 and 2012 with an annual transit of 13,500 vessels, carrying 325 millions of PC/UMS tons. Currently, when the locks are under maintenance, the demand exceeds the capacity as the waiting line of vessels piles up. The situation sometimes takes weeks to normalize. The expansion will remedy this situation.

To maintain its market share and the Canal’s financial contribution to Panama’s treasury, additional locks are necessary. Moreover, the new and existing locks combined will allow for a capacity of traffic of up to 600 million PC/UMS, and post-Panamax vessels will be capable of carrying up to 12,000 containers.

Sabonge pointed out that the record performance of the canal since January 1, 2000, indicates that Panamanians can not only operate and maintain the canal effectively. The canal has produced a 22.7 percent annual growth during the period 2000-2006 making a contribution of $569.7 million to the national treasery of Panama for 2006 alone.