Panama Canal Celebrates 102 Years
The Panama Canal has celebrated 102 years of successful operations and service to the global maritime community, just one day after welcoming its one-hundredth transit through the expanded waterway.
On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal officially opened for business, during the administration of President Woodrow Wilson. But it was Wilson’s archrival who was the driving force behind the canal.
Over the past century, the Panama Canal has left a legacy of innovation, connectivity and sustainability, having a direct impact on world maritime trade, as well as the people of Panama.
Century old experience and know-how allowed the Canal to successfully complete, and now operate, one of the greatest feats of engineering known to man, bringing the Panama Canal into the 21st century.
“After 102 years, the Panama Canal is rejuvenated thanks to the beginning of operations of the Expanded Canal, ongoing maintenance of its original infrastructure, and the commitment of its workforce of 10,000 talented men and women who make this route one of the main arteries of world maritime trade,” said Panama Canal Administrator and CEO Jorge L. Quijano.
Less than two months following the Expanded Canal’s historic June 26 Inauguration, the Neopanamax vessel Hanjin Xiamen became the 100th vessel to transit the new locks, passing through the Canal on the morning of Sunday, August 14.
The US$5.25 billion expansion program is the largest improvement project in the Canal’s 102-year history. It included the construction of new, larger locks on both the Pacific and the Atlantic sides and dredging of more than 150 million cubic metres of material, creating a second lane of traffic and doubling the capacity of the waterway.
The new locks use tugs to guide the vessels through rather than locomotives (or mules) as was the custom in the old locks.
The Panama Canal expects to handle 17% more tonnage in fiscal year 2017 — the first full year of operations at the expanded waterway — compared with last fiscal year’s record high of 340.8 million Panama Canal tons, Quijano said.
“In the 50 days since inaugurating the canal expansion, we’ve received 289 reservations and transited 104 Neopanamax vessels, and these numbers continue to grow daily,” he added.
