Dug over 100 years ago Panama Canal needed modernization for a long time. Its carrying capacity left much to be desired: sometimes ships had to wait for their turn for several days. In addition, the centuries-old locks did not correspond to the dimensions and tonnage of modern ships.
The renovation of the channel began in 2007. For 9 years, the width of the locks was increased from 34 to 55 meters, the depth - from 12 to 18 meters. As a result of the reconstruction, which cost $ 5.4 billion, the throughput of the artificial waterway increased from 300 to 600 million tons per year, and most importantly, the canal was adapted for tankers transporting liquefied gas. The maximum displacement of the vessels has increased to 150,000 tons.
Globally
The opening of the Panama Canal 2.0 is a global event. At least, this is how the Panamanian authorities position him - heads of state and government from all over the world are invited to the ceremony. True, only Latin American presidents have confirmed their presence: Michelle Bachelet (Chile), Luis Guillermo Solis (Costa Rica), Daniel Medina (Dominican Republic), Juan Orlando Hernandez (Honduras) and Horacio Cartes (Paraguay). Also, 62 delegations from different countries and representatives of international organizations will arrive in Panama.
Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela sent an invitation to Vladimir Putin, but this trip was not on the schedule of the Russian leader.
US Zone of Interest
The main beneficiary of the Panama Canal reset will be the United States. It was they who at one time were most interested in its construction. And in 1902, having bought the assets of the canal from the bankrupt French, they "agreed" with the Panamanian authorities and in 10 years they successfully dug a path from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, paying about $ 400 million for this and more than 5.5 thousand lives of workers.
The USA completely owned the channel until 1999. But after numerous protests against the American presence, it was finally transferred under the control of Panama, the state agency of the Panama Canal Administration. True, in reality, the United States continues to consider the canal, like the entire territory of Panama, a zone of its vital interests. In addition, as Mikhail Belyat, a researcher at the Russian State University for the Humanities, an expert on Latin America, said in an interview with RT, "there is a lot of money from American shareholders in this channel."
Economic effect
Ahead of the inauguration of the revamped Panama Canal, The Wall Street Journal wrote that expanding the waterway could have a huge impact on global trade in the long term. Of course, first of all, American companies will have an advantage, because the United States will be able to quickly deliver oil and gas from the Gulf of Mexico to anywhere in the world through the modernized channel.
- Reuters
However, there is another opinion. The expansion of the canal was planned at the peak of sea transportation, now the situation has changed, so the economic effect of modernizing the canal is not obvious. But optimistic experts predict an increase in sea freight traffic by at least 240% by 2030.
Monopoly game
The economic situation is volatile, but the US monopoly on the Panama Canal seems to be constant. And this does not suit many. First of all, China and Venezuela, as one of the main oil exporters in the region. China has already leased two ports at the entrance and exit of the canal, but still cannot feel calm and be completely sure that the transit of its goods will not one day be blocked.
The second disadvantage of the Panama Canal: even in its updated version, it is not wide and deep enough for the latest tankers. And finally, its lack of alternatives contradicts the principles of competition.
These factors led to the emergence of the idea of a backup channel.
Nicaraguan stunt double
Everything new is well forgotten old. The idea of building a canal on the territory of Nicaragua appeared in the 16th century and belonged to the Spanish king Charles V. In those distant times, they were going to build a canal through Lake Nicaragua and the San Juan River, cutting the 80-meter isthmus separating the lake from the ocean. The Americans initially wanted to implement this scenario, and even the North American Company was formed to build the Nicaraguan Canal. But in the end, the scales tipped in favor of Panama.
The idea of the Nicaraguan Canal was reborn in the 21st century. The private Hong Kong company HKND Group, led by Chinese billionaire Wang Jin, and the Nicaraguan government have agreed to build a backup canal. The construction site of the century was started in 2014.
- www.youtube.com
By all counts
According to the project, the Nicaraguan Canal in all respects should bypass its Panamanian competitor: length - 286 kilometers, depth - about 30 meters, width - from 226 to 530 meters, displacement of vessels - up to 270,000 tons.
And, importantly, the emergence of the Nicaraguan Canal will significantly reduce transit prices and port dues on the coast. “According to the existing project, two powerful ports will appear at the entrance and exit of the canal, they will compete with the Panama ports,” Mikhail Belyat, a researcher at the Russian State Humanitarian University, an expert on Latin America, said in an interview with RT. - Accordingly, the pricing for using the canal and port services along the entire coast will decrease. This does not suit the United States. "
Proetcontra
Canal construction is a matter of vital importance not only for all project participants. Nicaragua receives economic and political preferences: the country's GDP will double, and its geopolitical significance will radically change. China, having built the Nicaraguan Canal, seriously and for a long time comes to the American continent, and becomes one of the main players in the region, not to mention the economic benefits - it is no coincidence that Chinese investors are showing great interest in the project. The countries of the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America are also interested in the emergence of an alternative route from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. But for the United States, according to Mikhail Belyat, “this will be a geostrategic bomb. China comes to the American continent. And so there his presence is obvious, in any Latin American country you will find a Chinese trace. But the canal is a huge thorn in the immediate vicinity of the US border. ”
Do we need it?
China and Nicaragua cannot fail to realize all the risks arising from being close to the disgruntled States. Therefore, they are trying by any means to involve Russia in the project in order to ensure its safety. In 2015, Daniel Ortega took the first step - he signed an agreement with Russia, according to which Russian warships can be located in the territorial waters of Nicaragua. And recently, the first batch of 20 modernized T-72B1 tanks was delivered to Nicaragua. In total, under the contract, Nicaraguans will receive 50 armored vehicles by the beginning of 2017.
“China needs Russia, under any guise, to take part in this project,” Oleg Valetsky, a military expert at the Center for Strategic Conjuncture, said in an interview with RT. "The Chinese are well aware that this will be a blow to US interests with all the ensuing consequences." Moreover, there were already precedents in history. “The US has carried out several interventions in Nicaragua to build such a canal,” says Mikhail Beliat. "And in the twentieth century, they carried out interventions so that the canal was not built in Nicaragua, because it is becoming an alternative to the Panama canal."
Whether Russia should take part in the construction of the century is a debatable question. A number of experts believe that it is not worth it yet. The economic benefits are dubious and the geopolitical ones are unpredictable.
Delayed Action Mine
The start of operation of the Nicaraguan Canal was scheduled for 2019, and the full completion of construction - in 2029. However, at first, farmers, worried about the loss of their land, got on the way to the implementation of the project, and the construction was postponed for six months. Then, as usual, the ecologists were indignant, and again a postponement. Finally, all controversial issues were settled and here the project was again postponed until the end of 2016. As an explanation, the HKND Group announced financial difficulties.
But the reasons for the permanent freeze of the Nicaraguan Canal are likely to lie in the field of politics. November 6 elections for the President of Nicaragua, and November 8 for the President of the United States. And the future fate of the channel largely depends on their results.
“Ortega is running for a third term,” says Mikhail Belyat. - His chances are slim. We'll have to withstand the pressure of the opposition, backed by the United States. If a liberal president comes to power, the terms of the Nicaraguan Canal agreement may be revised. "
- Reuters
In turn, Hillary Clinton, according to experts, will not stand on ceremony with Chinese ambitions and will act extremely tough.
So we will find out very soon whether there should be a Nicaraguan Canal, but for now the maritime powers will have to be content with the renewed Panama Canal.
Ilya Ogandzhanov
The construction of the Panama Canal was one of the major milestones in navigation. Commissioned in 1920 (the first ship passed through it in 1914, but due to a landslide in the fall of that year, the official traffic was opened only six years later), the canal several times shortened the route between the ports of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans - before, to get from one ocean to another, ships had to go around South America all the way around Cape Horn. Today, the Panama Canal is one of the world's main sea routes, through which about 18 thousand ships pass annually (the current carrying capacity of the canal is 48 ships per day), which makes up a significant part of the world cargo turnover. The history of the Panama Canal goes back to the 16th century, when the Spaniard Vasco Nunez de Balboa was the first to cross the Isthmus of Panama and reach the Pacific coast - so it was discovered that the territory of modern Panama is only a narrow strip of land between the oceans. In 1539, the Spanish king sent an exploration expedition to study the possibility of building a waterway across the Isthmus of Panama, but the expedition reported to the king that this idea was not feasible. 
The first real attempt to build the Panama Canal was made by the French in 1879, under the leadership of Ferdinand de Lesseps, diplomat and project manager for the Suez Canal, which had just opened in 1869. But building the Panama Canal was a much more difficult task. In 1889, the French project went bankrupt - the challenge posed by the Panamanian jungle with its tropical downpours, impenetrable swamps and at the same time rocky soils, floods and, worst of all, deadly epidemics of malaria, yellow fever, plague, typhoid and other diseases was too difficult. that killed about 20 thousand people in the first campaign. Then the United States took over the construction of the Panama Canal. The United States was interested in reducing the waterway from the ports of California to its Atlantic coast, and most importantly, the Panama Canal was of colossal military importance - it made it possible to transfer the fleet from one ocean basin to another almost instantly, which significantly increased the power and global influence of the States. In 1903, the United States bought out the Panamanian project from the French, ensured Panama independence from Colombia, which did not want to provide the Americans with the canal zone for, in fact, unlimited use, after which it signed a formal agreement with the new Panamanian government (which was again represented by the Frenchman Philippe-Jean Buno -Varilla, who was one of the main participants in the bankrupt first project). The treaty gave the United States a 5-kilometer zone on each side of the canal for indefinite use (that is, in fact, forever) and the exclusive right to occupy territories outside this zone as part of any measures to protect the waterway. Thus, the declaration of the channel as neutral and the guarantee of free passage through the channel of military and merchant ships of all nations, both in peacetime and in wartime, was destroyed by the American clause that these regulations would not apply to those measures that the United States deemed necessary to take to protect Panama and maintaining order in the channel. In fact, in a war in which the United States would participate, their military fortifications inevitably deprived the other belligerent side of the opportunity to use the channel on an equal footing. John Frank Stevens became the chief engineer of the Panama Canal. Taking into account the mistakes of the French, the Americans first of all took colossal measures to disinfect the construction zone and prevent tropical diseases. The project was also changed - according to the French project, the Panama Canal, like the Suez Canal, was supposed to be built on the same level with the oceans, without locks. This required a colossal amount of excavation work on the watershed section of the route. American engineers redesigned the project and proposed a sluice canal with three stages of sluices on each side and a watershed 26 meters above ocean level. On the watershed, the Gatun reservoir was created, into which vessels from the Atlantic side rose at the Gatun locks, and from the Pacific side - at the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks. The Panama Canal was opened in 1920 and remained under US control for many years. There were dozens of American military bases in the canal zone, and about 50,000 military and civilian specialists worked. Over time, dissatisfaction with this began to grow in Panama more and more, and in 1977 an agreement was signed on the gradual transfer of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama. In reality, this process took more than two decades, and finally the canal zone passed into the possession of Panama on December 31, 1999. The length of the channel is 81.6 kilometers, of which 65.2 kilometers are actually on land and another 16.4 kilometers along the bottom of the Panama and Limonskaya bays to deep water. Vessels that are large enough to pass through the Panama Canal are called Panamax class vessels. This standard was the main one for marine vessels until the early 1990s, when the active construction of Post-Panamax class vessels (mainly tankers) began, the dimensions of which are larger than the size of the Panama Canal locks. Today, the cost of one passage of the Panama Canal depends on the type and size of the vessel and ranges from $ 800 for a small yacht to $ 500,000 for the largest vessels. There were also amusing cases - for example, in 1928, they took 36 cents from the famous American traveler Richard Hallibarton, who sailed through a canal from one ocean to another. The Panama Canal today is not only one of the world's most important transport links, but also the main tourist attraction of Panama. At the Panama Canal, there is now a large tourist center at the Miraflores locks, where from several special viewing platforms you can see the locks and ships passing them, while the loudspeaker tells about each ship, its route and what it transports. There are other tours - by buses along the canal, by rail, trips on small boats; On some standard Caribbean cruises, cruise ships climb the Atlantic slope of the canal through the Gatun locks to the watershed and then return to the Caribbean Sea (and tourists can sail the rest of the Panama Canal by boat as part of the excursion). But by far the best, unique and most enthusiastic way to see the Panama Canal is to cross it entirely on a cruise ship, cross it from the Atlantic to the Pacific (or vice versa) and continue the cruise further in a completely different ocean basin. Absolutely everyone, even the most seasoned travelers, prepares for the passage of the Panama Canal in a completely special way. The passage of the Panama Canal itself takes on average about 9 hours, not counting the waiting time for ships on huge sea roadsteads on each side. The cruise ship, of course, goes on schedule, and goes to the canal immediately, out of turn. Zaandam arrives at the Panama Canal Zone at approximately 5am. The entrance to the spacious approach area of the Panama Canal from the Caribbean Sea is marked by powerful lighthouses and protected by many kilometers of dams. At the entrance to the canal in the roadstead, dozens of ships of all sizes and stripes are waiting for their turn, brightly lit in the night. And on the coast of the bay is the city and port of Colon, with a huge container terminal. The same container terminal is located at the other entrance to the canal - thus, container ships of the Post-Panamax class (that is, the size of which is larger than the Panama Canal locks) are unloaded at these entry ports, containers with cargo are transported along the railway along the canal, and then on the other side they are loaded onto new ships and continue the route. The railway between the ports is also used for partial unloading of large container ships passing through the canal to reduce their draft. It's five in the morning, just dawning, but most tourists are already on their feet: the entrance to the Panama Canal is one of the central events of the cruise! We go into the approaching water area, from the board in the predawn twilight the lights of the port of Colon are visible. 
Having taken on board a group of pilots, we are heading to the entrance - from the Caribbean Sea, the Panama Canal begins with a three-step staircase of Gatun locks, in which ships rise from the level of the Atlantic Ocean to the watershed section of the canal. 
To the left of the existing two-line locks, an additional third line of the Panama Canal locks is being built since 2007. 
They will be significantly larger than the existing ones and will increase the maximum size and draft of vessels that can navigate through the canal. If the current locks have dimensions of 304.8 x 33.5 and a depth of 12.8 meters, then the new ones - respectively 427 x 55 x 18.3. In addition to the construction of the second stage of locks, the fairway at the Culebra dividing notch is being widened and deepened in order to make two-way traffic of vessels possible along the entire length of the canal (now the traffic and lock on the Panama Canal is essentially one-way - at first there is a group of vessels in one direction, then in the opposite direction, and the vessels diverge on wider lake sections of the route). With the end of this massive renovation, the Panama Canal's capacity will double. Old and new locks of the Panama Canal 
Longitudinal profile of the Panama Canal 
Route plan 
At 6-30 am we approach the Gatun locks. The movement of ships along one of the most important transport links in the world goes on continuously, from the bow of the "Zaandam" you can clearly see how four ships rise up the locks in front of us, two in each line. 
On the bank of the canal there are huge gates for the second stage locks under construction - they were made in Italy and were delivered to the canal recently, at the end of August 2013. 
We approach the first gateway. Sluggish seagoing vessels are moved from chamber to chamber with the help of special locomotives, to which mooring lines are attached and pulled. Locomotives with tensioned mooring lines attached to them accompany the vessel from four sides (at the bow and stern from each side) - thus, a perfectly clear entry of huge sea vessels into a chamber, which is quite small in comparison with their size, is carried out. Mooring lines from locomotives on board the vessel are served by boat. 
The mooring lines are fixed - let's go! 
We go into the first lock chamber - the ships rise from the Caribbean Sea to the watershed section in the three-stage Gatun locks. The total lifting height is 26 meters. Accordingly, a little less than nine meters per step. But from the side of a huge sea liner, this nine-meter drop is not perceived as significant. 
There is incredible excitement on the decks! 
After the United States finally withdrew from the Panama Canal in 1999, the unique structure is entirely independently maintained and serviced by Panama. The channel is in good hands! 
The locomotive, starting the ship from the stern on the starboard side, deftly climbs up. Now the gates will close and the sluicing will begin. 
Having risen in the first, we pass into the second chamber. 
One of the Panama Canal webcams is installed in the Gatun locks, which broadcast the picture on the Internet in real time. At this moment, many of my friends and colleagues are watching us go through the gateways. This is how the "Zaandam" slowly ascending the Atlantic slope of the Panama Canal looks like from the side. 
Having finished sluicing in the third chamber, "Zaandam" rises to the level of the watershed section of the canal. From the stern, there is a stunning view of the descending staircase of locks and the vessels going up along it behind us. Captures the spirit! Far below, the expanse of the Caribbean Sea is spread. And to us - to the Pacific Ocean. Goodbye Atlantic! 
Having risen in the Gatun locks, the ship enters the lake of the same name. Lake Gatun is actually a large reservoir, formed on the watershed by a large dam on the Chagres River, which is clearly visible on the right side. 
The canal is fed with water from Lake Gatun. Such canals, in which the reservoir that feeds them with water is located on the watershed, from which water is distributed by gravity to both slopes, are called canals with natural feeding (gravity). In our country, these are the Volga-Baltic and White Sea-Baltic channels. On Lake Gatun there is another raid of ships waiting for their turn at the locks and waiting for the end of the lock of those who go to meet. When the second stage of the Panama Canal is put into operation, traffic along the entire length of the route will become completely two-way. 
The path through the Gatun Reservoir is about half of the entire length of the Panama Canal. Admiring the surrounding landscapes of the equatorial belt from the deck. 
The fairway is narrow and rather winding. The waterway is marked with special buoys. 
At the Gatun reservoir there is a divergence of ships going in opposite directions. A caravan of ships is approaching, having passed the locks of the Pacific slope in the morning and is now heading towards the Atlantic slope of the canal. Large tankers, dry cargo ships, container ships pass by ... 
From the bridges of oncoming cargo ships, they are also looking at Zaandam with interest. The passage of cruise ships through the Panama Canal is a rather rare event. 
On the left side of the board you can see the confluence of the Chagres River, which is crossed by the bridge. The Gatun reservoir ends there. Further, the route of the canal passes through the artificially dug Culebra cut. 
A railway runs along the Panama Canal route, which transports containers from the Atlantic to the Pacific ports and vice versa. Sometimes tourist trains run along it. 
We go by the Culebra notch - the narrowest part of the Panama Canal. In some parts of the canal, ships are escorted by tugs. A whole special flotilla is working on the Panama Canal. 
In the place where the Culebra notch crosses a high mountain range, the banks rise steeply upward in steps, and in the distance you can already see the Centennial Bridge. It was built in 2004 and became the second permanent bridge across the canal. By the way, bridges across the Panama Canal connect two continents - let's not forget that the Panama Canal not only connects two oceans, but also separates two Americas. The motto of Panama and the Panama Canal, "A Land Divided - A World United", I think, is understandable without additional translation. Now we have North America on our starboard side, and South America on our port side. 
Rising stone ledges and reinforced with powerful anchors, the slopes of the excavation in this place resemble some fantastic Mayan pyramids. In principle, in terms of its grandeur, the Panama Canal is a structure quite comparable to them. The volume of rocky soil, developed during the creation of the Culebra excavation, is equal in volume to 63 pyramids of Cheops in Egypt. 
The bridge is left behind. 
Soon after the bridge, the dividing section of the canal ends and the descent to the Pacific Ocean begins, which ships also overcome with three 9-meter steps. But the Pacific slope is slightly more gentle - if on the Atlantic slope all three steps are in a row in the Gatun locks, then there are two groups of locks - Pedro Miguel (1 step) and Miraflores (2 steps), separated by a small intermediate pool. So, we go into the Pedro Miguel locks. 
Approximately the same view opens from the captain's bridge. In this perspective, you can clearly see how narrow the lock chamber is compared to the colossal dimensions of ocean-going ships. Even in the presence of locomotives guiding the vessel, jeweler's precision is required from navigators. All ships go along the canal with a group of local pilots. 
The locomotives drive the tanker "Emerald Express" into the parallel chamber. 
At this time on its decks. 
Having finished sluicing at the Pedro Miguel locks, the Zaandam emerges into the small Lake Miraflores, just like Lake Gatun, formed by the dam. Here we will have to wait a little - a huge floating crane is being pulled towards us along a parallel line of locks, and for some time the ships have been going along only one line. 
We go out into the water area and stop. We'll have to wait half an hour for the ship in front of us to float in two chambers, and it's our turn. 
The ships following us are also waiting - a small traffic jam! 
On the left, you can see a dam on the river, which formed the Miraflores reservoir. 
Finally, the lock chambers are cleared and ready to receive our ship. This arrow indicates to skippers which of the two lines to navigate. 
We go into the left chamber, and towards us from the right chamber the tug, at last, slowly takes out a huge floating crane, the "culprit" of the traffic jam. Now the locking process will go much faster again. 
Near the top left chamber is the Panama Canal Visitor Center. There are several large open areas here, from where anyone can look at the ships going through the locks. 
There is also a webcam, from which our ship is seen most of all on the channel. Separated from the crowd, here you can pose gorgeous to your friends and say hello to the Motherland, awake at midnight! At this moment, from the outside, we look like this. 
Saying goodbye to friends, we disappear from the field of view of video cameras. Now we will see you in two weeks at home, but for now "Zaandam" is heading to the last chamber of the Miraflores lock, after which it will leave the Panama Canal, enter the Pacific Ocean and continue the cruise along the coast of South America. The viewing platforms of the tourist center "Miraflores" are not crowded. The passage of a cruise ship through the canal is a significant event and a unique opportunity for many overland tourists to take rare footage. 
Excitement !!! 
The gate of the last chamber of the Miraflores locks closes - the final lock, and we again find ourselves at ocean level. 
Before the construction of two permanent bridges, this drawbridge operated on the Panama Canal, through which for 50 years the connection between the two Americas was carried out. 
The locomotive driver at work. 
Locking is over - let's go to the exit! 
The Pacific Slope locks of the Panama Canal are left behind. 
On the Pacific slope, the construction of the second stage of locks is also actively underway - here the outline of the future new water staircase is already visible. 
We head towards the exit. 
We leave the Pacific container port on the left. 
The exit to the Pacific Ocean is unusually beautiful - we pass under the openwork arch of the Bridge of Americas, opened in 1962. 
On the left, there is a magnificent panorama of the city of Panama surrounded by green hills, the capital of the state of the same name. 
The pilot boat picks up the pilots accompanying the ship on the Panama Canal, and, giving a good-natured siren goodbye, returns back. 
There are also many ships at the entrance to the Panama Canal on the Pacific side. 
A fresh breeze blows in your face, going out into the open space "Zaandam" is accompanied by a flock of birds ... 
We are in the Pacific Ocean! 
Construction was started by the French in the 19th century, but they were never able to complete the project due to various problems. The American government took over the project in 1904 and completed it a decade later, making history. The canal is now under the control of the government of Panama. The Panama Canal not only benefits merchants by facilitating the transit of goods, but is also important from a tourism point of view. Canal cruises are very popular and if you are planning to visit the area then don't miss the chance to cruise along the canal. During this trip, you can explore the many exotic attractions of Panama. Travel agencies will offer you hundreds of cruise packages of all kinds covering a range of popular ports such as New York, Miami, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and more. This tour will allow you to see some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and visit exotic Panama City.
Channel History
In fact, the history of the channel goes back much deeper - in the 16th century. In 1513, the Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa became the first European to notice the extremely thin Isthmus of Panama separating the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Balboa's discovery sparked the search for a natural waterway linking the two oceans. In 1534, after no natural path was found, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ordered an investigation into the possibility of building a canal. The inspectors ultimately decided that the construction of a navigable canal in these places was impossible.
Start of construction
An interesting fact in the history of the Panama Canal is another construction attempt undertaken by the designer of the Suez Canal. No serious construction attempts were made until the 1880s. In 1881, the French company of Ferdinand de Lessep, the designer of the Suez Canal in Egypt, began digging a canal through Panama. The project was plagued by poor planning, technical problems and tropical diseases that killed thousands of workers. De Lessep intended to build a canal at sea level, in the image of the Suez, without any locks. But the excavation process turned out to be much more difficult than expected. Gustave Eiffel, who designed the famous tower in Paris, was hired to create the locks, but De Lessep's company went bankrupt in 1889. At the time, the French unprofitably invested more than $ 260 million in construction, excavating more than 70 million cubic meters of land. The collapse of the company caused a big scandal in France. De Lessep and his son Charles, along with Eiffel and several other company executives, were accused of embezzlement, mismanagement and fraud. In 1893 they were found guilty, sentenced to prison and fined. After the scandal, Eiffel retired from business and devoted himself to scientific research. A new French company was formed to take over the assets of the insolvent business and continue the channel, but it soon followed the same path. During the 1800s, the United States was also interested in building a canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. For both economic and military reasons, they considered Nicaragua to be a better location than Panama. However, this plan was abandoned thanks to the efforts of Philippe-Jean Buno-Varill, a French engineer who was involved in both French canal projects. In the late 1890s, Buno Varilla began lobbying American lawmakers to buy French Canal assets in Panama, and eventually convinced many that Nicaragua had dangerous volcanoes and Panama was a less dangerous option.
In 1902, Congress authorized the purchase of the French assets of the Panama Canal. But Colombia, of which Panama was at the time, refused to ratify the agreement. With the backing of Buno Varilla and the tacit approval of President Theodore Roosevelt, Panama rebelled against Colombia and declared independence. Thereafter, US Secretary of State John Hay and Buno-Varilla, as representative of the interim government of Panama, agreed on the Hay-Buno-Varilla Agreement, which gave America the right to an area of more than 500 square miles in which to build a canal. By agreement, the channel was completely taken over by the Americans. Agreed that the United States will shell out approximately $ 375 million for construction, including a $ 10 million payment to Panama, and $ 40 million to buy back French assets. A century after the United States completed the Panama Canal, shipping links through Nicaragua are still possible: In 2013, the Chinese company announced a $ 40 billion agreement with the Nicaraguan government for the right to build such a waterway.
Death of workers
More than 25,000 workers were officially killed during the construction of the Panama Canal. The canal builders faced many obstacles, including challenging terrain, hot, humid weather, heavy rain and rampant tropical diseases. Earlier French attempts resulted in the deaths of more than 20,000 workers, and America's efforts fared slightly better — between 1904 and 1913 about 5,600 workers died from illness, or accidents.
Many of these earlier deaths were caused by yellow fever and malaria. According to doctors of the time, these diseases were caused by polluted air and poor conditions. By the early 20th century, however, medical experts had uncovered the key role of mosquitoes as carriers of these diseases, enabling them to significantly reduce the number of worker deaths. Special sanitary measures were taken, which included draining marshes and reservoirs, removing possible insect breeding grounds and installing protective screens on windows in buildings.
Panama Canal capacity
Between 13,000 and 14,000 ships use the channel every year.
American ships use the channel most often, followed by China, Chile, Japan, Colombia and South Korea. Every ship passing through the canal must pay a toll based on its size and cargo volume. The toll for the largest ships can be up to about $ 450,000. The smallest toll ever paid was 36 cents, paid in 1928 by the American adventurer Richard Halliburton, who conquered the canal. Today, approximately $ 1.8 billion in fees are collected annually. On average, it takes a ship 8 to 10 hours to pass through the canal. Moving through it, a system of locks lifts each vessel 85 feet above sea level. The ship's masters are not allowed to take control while in transit; instead, specially trained personnel take over the management. In 2010, the millionth ship crossed the canal since its opening.
Who controls the Panama Canal?
The United States ceded control of the canal to Panama in 1999. In the years following the canal's opening, relations between America and Panama became strained. Questions arose about control over the channel itself and the area adjacent to it. In 1964, Panamanians rebelled because they were not allowed to fly the Panama national flag next to the US flag in the canal zone. Following the uprising, Panama temporarily broke off diplomatic relations with the United States. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter and General Omar Torrijos signed agreements transferring control of the canal to Panama since 1999, but giving the United States the right to use the military force to protect the waterway from any threat to its neutrality. Despite the discontent of many politicians who did not want their country to lose its grip on the canal, the US Senate ratified the Torrijos-Carter Agreement in 1978. Control was transferred to Panama peacefully in December 1999.
Expansion of the Panama Canal
At the moment, the canal is expanding to accommodate modern mega-ships. Expansion work began in 2007 for $ 5.25 billion, which will allow the channel to receive post-Panamax vessels. These vessels exceed the dimensions of the so-called Panamax, built according to the dimensions of the canal. The expanded canal will be able to handle cargo ships carrying 14,000 20ft containers, nearly three times the current volume. The expansion project will be completed in late 2015, but the canal will still not be able to handle some of the largest container ships.
Interesting fact
Approximately 236.4 million liters of fresh water are used for the passage of one ship through the Panama Canal. The water comes from Lake Gatun, formed during the construction of the canal by blocking the Chagres River. With an area of 262 square kilometers, Gatun was once the largest man-made lake in the world.
— section of Corte Culebra with the Bridge of the Americas above it
There are roads and railways along the canal route between Panama and Colon. Lake Gatun with a whole system of islands and deepened waterways is served by a canal. Its waters are used to lift, wire and lower ships, to fill the tanks of the entire system of locks, from which water flows to their chambers. Spare tanks in the form of giant round containers are also filled with water, and at the right time, through a complex system of transitions, it goes to the locks. All additional tanks are located at some distance from the sluice system. If you go by bus to the north of the country, then all this engineering idea can be contemplated from the window. Auxiliary water supply is provided by another reservoir, Lake Alajuela. Such volumes, such power, and the very ingenious thought amazes everyone who visits the Panama Canal for the first time.
In the morning, ships are ferried from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, and in the afternoon, ships are pulled from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is interesting that every day in the evening the water on the embankment of Panama City arrived when the locks were opened and ships were lowered into the Pacific Ocean, and in the morning the bottom was almost bare. This is how the canal creates artificial ebb and flow in the Bay of Panama. Just imagine what the water potential of this structure is!
Coming down from observation deck Miraflores on the first floor, watched with interest a film about the construction of the canal and its heroes, and everyone there were heroes. The film made a strong impression on me. What I admired from above today became a tremendous test, a difficult period and a deadly project for many thousands of people who came into contact with the construction of the canal at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The first attempt to build a navigable route was made by the French at the end of the 19th century (1879), while the US authorities advocated the Nicaraguan version of the canal. The idea for France turned into an almost economic disaster. The funds allocated for the construction were not enough, only a third of the work was spent twice as much as expected. Huge sums went to the Panamanian bureaucrats and to pay for all kinds of permits and concessions, the project itself turned out to be wrong and was underestimated in its cost. But the worst for the workers were tropical diseases - malaria and yellow fever. Death mowed people down. In nine years, 20,000 workers have died. The construction site became notorious; newspapers of that time wrote that some groups of workers brought their own coffins from France with them. For all these reasons, the payment of wages stopped and the work was stopped. France for two years was swept by a scandal and all kinds of trials over the organizers of the project. Lesseps was one of the outstanding engineers of his time (he owned the Suez Canal project), as a result of the bankruptcy of the Panama plan, as well as the famous creator of the Eiffel Tower, Alexander Eiffel, were accused of large-scale fraud, mediocre campaign management and mismanagement of funds and sentenced to various prison terms conclusions. Ferdinand Lesseps did not survive the stress and passed away.
Sixteen years of silence, so to speak, is the period of abandonment of a grandiose construction site. But all this time, the United States, by hook or by crook, sought to continue the construction, now by the forces of the Americans. Agreements were signed again, all sorts of permits were bought up, lands and islands were bought out, which in the future could serve as a channel in terms of protection, security, maintenance and management. The work already done and the necessary equipment were bought from the French. Under the 1903 treaty, the United States received perpetual possession of "a zone of land and land under water for the construction of ... a canal." As a result, the Americans became the owners of a huge package of permits, and the US Department of War began building the canal in 1904. Panama has effectively become a US protectorate.
Workers were needed to resume the grandiose construction. A cry was thrown. People came from all over the world. By that time, it became known about the sources of the deadly diseases of yellow fever and malaria. The Americans have made every effort for another project to destroy harmful insects. Forests were cut down, swamps were drained and grass was burned in the area of the proposed work. The area was watered with a special oil against mosquito larvae, and, can you imagine, they succeeded. Diseases are no longer a hindering factor.
It took ten years of exhausting work to complete the project. People dug canals, drilled rocks, blew up hills and rebuilt the railroad, which was used to transport the soil.
John Frank Stevens became the channel's chief engineer. The correct project was chosen this time. The construction took 10 years, $ 400 million and 70 thousand workers, of which, according to American data, only about 5600 people died, which, in comparison with the losses of the French, was almost four times less. Their mistakes were a good lesson for the Americans.
The canal was officially opened on June 12, 1920, although the first ship passed through it in August 1914. The Panama Canal was controlled by the United States until December 31, 1999, after which it was transferred to the Panama government.
This is a brief history of the grandiose object that connected two oceans. The Panama Canal is the greatest engineering feat in human history.
On Miraflores, I also visited a museum, where I controlled a container ship from a virtual captain's cabin and led it through the locks.
Panama Canal- a shipping channel connecting the Panama Gulf 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 by land and 16.4 km along the bottom of the Panama and Limonskaya bays (for the passage of ships to deep water).
The construction of the Panama Canal has become one of the largest and most complex construction projects carried out by mankind. The Panama Canal has had an invaluable impact on the development of shipping and the economy in general in the Western Hemisphere and throughout the Earth, which has led to its extremely high geopolitical importance. 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 ships of all types to pass through it - from private yachts to huge tankers and container ships. The maximum size of a vessel that can pass the Panama Canal has become the de facto standard in shipbuilding, dubbed Panamax.
The pilotage service of the Panama Canal is responsible for the pilotage of ships through the Panama Canal. The average time for a ship to pass through the canal is 9 hours, the minimum time is 4 hours 10 minutes. The maximum throughput is 48 vessels per day. Annually, about 17.5 thousand ships, carrying more than 203 million tons of cargo, pass through the canal facilities. By 2002, more than 800 thousand ships had already used the channel's services.
In December 2010, the canal was closed for pilotage for the first time in 95 years due to bad weather and rising water levels as a result of incessant downpours.
Story
Construction of the canal in 1888
Panama Canal Promotion
The original plan for the construction of a canal connecting two oceans dates back to the 16th century, but King Philip II of Spain imposed a ban on the consideration of such projects, because "what God has connected, 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 on the device of the interoceanic canal; in 1825, a similar decision was made by the Congress of Central American States. The discovery of gold in California caused an increased interest in the problem of the canal in the United States, and in 1848 the United States, under the Hayes Treaty, received in Nicaragua a monopoly on the construction of all types of interoceanic communications. Great Britain, whose possessions were in contact with Nicaragua, hastened to curb the expansion of the United States, concluding with them in 1850 the Clayton Bulwer Treaty 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 appear: through Nicaragua (see Nicaragua 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 to develop the Panama variant was seized by the French. At that time, the attention of the United States was mainly attracted by the Nicaraguan variant. In 1879, in Paris, under the chairmanship of the head of the construction of the Suez Canal Ferdinand Lesseps, the "Universal Company of the Interoceanic Canal" was created, the shares of which were acquired 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 government of Colombia in 1878. An international congress convened prior to 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 earthworks was envisaged at 157 million cubic meters. yards. In 1887, the idea of a gateless channel 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, on December 14, 1888, the company stopped payments, and work was soon stopped.
Spanish workers - canal builders, early 1900s
Construction of the canal, 1911
In 1902, the U.S. Congress passed legislation requiring the President of the United States to acquire the property of the Canal Company, shares of the Panama Company Railroad, and a 10-mile wide strip of land off Colombia to construct, maintain, and operate a canal with jurisdiction over 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, the United States agreed to pay a lump sum of $ 10 million for the transfer of the concession and then, after 9 years, $ 250,000 annually, while maintaining Colombia's sovereignty over the Panama Canal zone. These conditions were formalized in the Hay-Herran agreement, but the Colombian Senate refused to ratify it on August 12, 1903, since the concession agreement with the French company expired only in 1904, and according to its terms, if the canal did not start functioning by that time, it was undoubtedly, then all the structures erected by the company were transferred free of charge to Colombia. The only way out for those interested in France and the United States was now that the state of Panama should be separated from Colombia and, as an independent state, legalized the transfer of the concession to the United States. The Frenchman Buno Varilla led the separatist movement and, with the assistance of the US Navy, carried out the deposition of Panama on November 4, 1903; On November 18, on behalf of the "Independent Panama Republic", he signed a treaty with the United States, modeled on the Hay-Herran treaty. The US conflict with Colombia was ended only in 1921.
Under the 1903 Treaty, the United States received perpetual possession of "a zone of land and land under water for the construction, maintenance, operation, sanitation and protection of the said channel," 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 if the Republic of Panama, in the opinion of the United States, would be unable to maintain order. The economic side of the Treaty repeated the Hey-Erran Treaty, which had not been ratified by Colombia. On behalf of Panama, the treaty was signed by the French citizen Philippe Buno-Variglia 2 hours before the arrival of the official delegation of Panama in Washington.
Construction began under the auspices of the US Department of Defense, and Panama effectively became a US protectorate.
In 1900 in Havana, Walter Reed and James Carroll determined that yellow fever was transmitted by mosquitoes and proposed a method to reduce the risk of yellow fever by destroying the mosquito habitat. Remembering the failure of the first attempt to dig the canal, the Americans sent a mosquito hike Aedes aegypti and malaria mosquitoes - carriers of yellow fever and malaria, respectively - a large expedition led by William Crawford Gorgas - 1,500 people. The scale of their activity is eloquently indicated by the published data: it was necessary to cut down and burn 30 square kilometers of shrubs and small trees, mow and burn grass in the same area, drain a million square yards (80 hectares) of swamps, dig 250 thousand feet (76 km) of drainage ditches and rebuild 2 million feet (600 km) of old ditches, spray 150,000 gallons (570,000 liters) of oils that kill mosquito larvae in breeding grounds. As well as shortly before in Havana, this has paid off: the prevalence of yellow fever and malaria has declined so much that disease is no longer a hindering factor.
Panama Canal (USA), 1940
The US Department of War began construction of the canal in 1904. John Frank Stevens became the channel's chief engineer. This time, the right project was chosen: locks and lakes. The construction took 10 years, $ 400 million and 70 thousand workers, of which, according to American data, about 5600 people died. On the morning of October 13, 1913, US President Thomas Woodrow Wilson, in the presence of numerous dignitaries gathered in the White House, went to a special table and with a majestic gesture pressed the gilded button. 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 at the city of Gamboa, separating the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. A cable four thousand kilometers long, specially laid from the jumper at Gamboa to the White House, obediently fulfilled the president's will.
The first ship (ocean steamer) passed along the canal line 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 channel, the United States acquired the nearby islands: the Pacific Islands - Margaritas, were obtained from Panama, Perque, Naos, Culebra and Flamenco; were purchased from Denmark in 1917 for $ 25 million of the Islands of St. John, St. Cross and St. Thomas; in Nicaragua in 1928 - the Bread Islands; and in Colombia - the islands of Roncador and Kitazueno. The official opening of the channel 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 Panama government.
Channel configuration
Due to the S-shaped shape of the Isthmus of Panama, the Panama Canal is directed from the southwest (Pacific 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 side of the Atlantic Ocean, a three-chamber lock "Gatun" connects Limonskaya Bay with Lake Gatun. On the Pacific side, a two-chamber Miraflores lock and a Pedro Miguel single-chamber lock connect the Bay of Panama to 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-strand, which ensures the possibility of simultaneous oncoming traffic along the canal. In practice, however, usually both strings of locks operate to allow ships to pass in the same direction. Dimensions of lock chambers: width 33.53 m, length 304.8 m, minimum depth 12.55 m. Each chamber holds 101 thousand m³ of water. Large ships are guided through locks by special small electric railway locomotives called mules(in honor of mules, who previously served as the main draft force for moving barges along rivers).
The channel 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 clearance to pass at 62.5 m (205 ft), provided that the passage is in low water.
Throughout its length, the canal is crossed by three bridges. There is a road and a railway along the canal route between Panama and Colon.
Channel fees
Canal tolls are officially levied by the Panama Canal Authority, a government agency in Panama. Tax rates are set depending on the type of vessel.
The amount of tax from 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 collection rate was $ 2.96 per ton up to 10 thousand tons, $ 2.90 for each of the next 10 thousand tons and $ 2.85 for each subsequent ton.
The amount of tax from 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 businesses operating 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 delivery time of 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 works 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 channel will increase to 18.8 thousand ships per year, the cargo turnover - up to 600 million PCUMS. The reconstruction will cost $ 5.25 billion. It is expected that thanks to it, by 2015, Panama's budget will receive $ 2.5 billion in revenues from the canal, and by 2025, revenues will increase to $ 4.3 billion.
The start of construction of the third group of locks is scheduled for August 25, 2009. The Panama Canal Administration entrusted this work to the GUPC consortium (Grupo Unidos por el Canal), which on July 15, 2008 won the construction tender, offering to carry out necessary work for 3 billion 118 million dollars and complete construction by mid-2014. The main member of this consortium is the Spanish firm Sacyr Vallehermoso.
Alternative
The territory of Nicaragua was considered as an alternative route for the interoceanic channel. The first preliminary plans for the Nicaraguan Canal date back to the 17th century.
see also
Notes (edit)
Links
- Between Oceans: Poseidon's Gate on the Popular Mechanics magazine website
- Official website of the Panama Canal Administration (Spanish) (English)
- Panama Canal Webcams
