Facts About The Panama Canal

General Facts

• The Panama Canal is a freshwater locks canal that obtains water from a vast watershed covering 1,150 square miles (736,000 acres). Measuring 7-8 times the size of Gatun Lake, the watershed comprises rivers and dammed lakes extending across both sides of the canal. All the rainwater from this area is channeled into the canal. Functioning like a freshwater elevator, each vessel, irrespective of its type and size, is lifted 85 ft. above sea level to reach the height of Gatun Lake before being lowered back to sea level on the canal's opposing side.
• Vessels are lifted and lowered on both ends of the canal using a series of locks. The old locks — including Gatun, Miraflores, and Pedro Miguel Locks — were built during the initial construction era and share the same physical and design characteristics in most cases. Likewise, the new locks — including Agua Clara and Cocoli Locks — are identical to the best of my knowledge.
• Construction of the canal began in 1881 under the stewardship of France's Count Ferdinand de Lesseps — builder of Egypt's Suez Canal — and culminated in 1914 under the leadership of U.S. Lieutenant Colonel George W. Goethals, who was appointed by then-President Theodore Roosevelt, in April 1907.
• The total construction cost, including the French effort, was $375 million.
• Gatun Lake covers 163 square miles and, upon its completion, was the world's largest artificial lake.
• Gaillard Cut, named after David du Bose Gaillard — the American engineer who supervised its construction — is approximately 8-9 miles (12.75 - 14.5 km) long and extends from Gamboa to Pedro Miguel Locks. It is also known as Culebra Cut for its abundant curves; Culebra means snake in Spanish.
• During the canal's construction, 200 million of the estimated 268 million yards of earth excavated came from Gaillard Cut.
• Construction of Gatun Dam began in 1907 and finished in 1913.
• Construction on Miraflores Locks — the second set of locks completed after Pedro Miguel Locks — and Dam finished in May 1913, linking the Pacific Ocean with Miraflores Lake.
• The Panama Canal administration building was built between March 1913 and June 1914 for $879,000 and inaugurated on July 15, 1914, exactly one month before the official opening of the canal.
• Madden Dam was constructed between 1932 and 1935 to increase the holding capacity and help regulate water flow into Gatun Lake. It also provides hydroelectric energy for the canal and surrounding areas.
• Inauguration of the canal took place on August 15, 1914, with the southbound transit of the "S.S. Ancon," a cement boat piloted by Captain John A. Constantine. However, the first complete canal transit took place on January 7, 1914, with the passage of the French crane boat "Alexandre La Valley."
• The first Canal pilot was Captain John Constantine, a Greek national.
• The average ship transits in approximately 8-10 hours; however, in 1971, the U.S. Marine hydrofoil "Pegasus" completed a full transit in just 2 hours and 41 minutes — the fastest time ever.
• The least expensive toll paid was $0.36 by Richard Halliburton in 1928, who, weighing just 150 lbs., swam across the canal over ten days.
• Throughout the transit, vessels remain under the command of Panama Canal transit pilots. In addition, the vessel master takes on an advisory role.
• After lights were installed along Gaillard Cut and in all three locks, the canal, on May 12, 1963, began operating 24 hours.
• 1990 marked the first time the canal's administrator was a Panamanian citizen, and the deputy administrator was an American. Until that time, an American citizen occupied the administrator position.
• On September 7, 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian President Omar Torrijos signed the Panama Canal and Neutrality Treaties, which collectively transferred complete control of the Canal to Panama on December 31, 1999, and guaranteed permanent neutrality of the canal. Also, all U.S. military facilities and installations in the Panama Canal Zone area reverted to Panamanian ownership.

Facts About Old Set of Locks

• Each set of locks has two traffic lanes. Those two lanes, commonly known as the "east" and "west" lanes, permit vessels to travel in the same or opposite directions at any given time, depending on traffic needs. Separating them is a center wall extending to the very end of the locks, well beyond the chambers.
• Each chamber measures 110 ft. in width, 1,000 ft. in length, and 72 ft. in depth. Approximately 26,700,000 gallons (101,000 cubic meters) of freshwater are added to or drained from each chamber every time a vessel is lifted or lowered. It takes about one minute and 48 seconds for the chamber doors (miter gates) to open or close and only 8 minutes for the chamber to empty or fill.
• The maximum vessel dimensions permitted to enter into the locks are 965 ft. in length, 106 ft. in width, and a draft of 39.5 ft. These vessels are known as Panamax vessels.
• Approximately 52 million gallons of freshwater for each transiting vessel is required: 26 million to raise the ship to the height of Gatun Lake and another 26 million to lower it back to ocean level.
• The old set of locks utilizes electric locomotives, or mules as they are known, which run parallel to the chambers and their entire length. Their primary purpose is to keep the ship centered and prevent it from hitting the chamber walls, not for propulsion; ships remain under their power at all times. Locomotives and vessels remain connected by long steel cables.
• There are a total of 40 pairs of miter gates or chamber doors. Measuring seven ft. in width, they rely on hinges to open and close, much like a traditional pair of doors. When open, they're nestled inside a recessed compartment along the chamber wall to ensure they don't impede transiting vessels. The largest reside in the southernmost chamber of Miraflores Locks, where they must contend with the Pacific Ocean's enormous tide variations. These gates measure 75 ft. in height and weigh 730 tons. All miter gates measure seven ft. in depth and 65 ft. in width.
• The three locks share the names of the towns where they were built.

Facts About New Set of Locks

• A consortium led by Spanish construction company Sacyr, which included Italy's Salini Impregilo, Belgium's Jan De Nul Group, and Panama's Constructora Urbana, S.A., was awarded the expansion project.
• Construction on the new set of locks began in 2007, costing $5.8 billion. The inauguration took place on June 26, 2016.
• Each chamber measures 1,400 ft. in length, 180 ft. in width, and 60 ft. in depth, enabling the transit of vessels that measure up to 1,200 ft. long, 160 ft. wide, and 50 ft. deep. They are so large they can accommodate New York's iconic Empire State Building lying flat.
• Unlike pre-existing locks, each new lock has only one traffic lane. Therefore, there is no center wall.
• Each new set of locks comprises three separate chambers and nine water-saving holding tanks or basins (3 per chamber) just off its side. These basins, measuring 230 ft. in width and 18 ft. in depth, re-use approximately 60% of the water used during each vessel transit. With these savings, the new locks discharge 7% less water than the old locks despite their immense size.
• The new locks employ a completely different type of chamber door. They are pocket doors or sliding doors. They move back and forth when opening and closing, into and out of an empty cavity. They are not on hinges and always remain perpendicular to the chamber. These doors measure 33 feet (10 m) in width, 98 feet (30 m) in height, and 190 feet (58 m) in length, making them almost five times wider than those used in the old locks. They're so big they need five minutes to open or close.
• Vessels maintain their position inside the chambers using propellers built into the ship's hull, known as bow and stern thrusters. Electric locomotives — used in the old lock system — are not present. They are, however, accompanied by two tug boats when transiting through the locks.
• One hundred and ninety-two thousand tons of steel were necessary to construct the third set of locks, enough to build 19 Eiffel Towers.
• The canal expansion project required the installation of 16 new lock gates (chamber doors) — eight on the Atlantic side and eight on the Pacific side.
• The new locks double the canal's cargo capacity and permit much larger ships — post-PANAMAX or Neopanamax vessels — to transit. The existing locks allow the passage of ships carrying up to 5,000 TEUs. The new locks enable Post-Panamax vessels to transit with up to 13,000 TEUs.
• The first ship to use the new set of locks was a modern Panamax vessel, the Chinese-owned container ship "Cosco Shipping Panama."
• On the Pacific, Agua Clara Locks resides east of Gatun Locks. On the Atlantic, Cocoli Locks are southwest of Miraflores Locks.

Important Names to Remember

• Philippe Buneau Varilla – was the last chief engineer under the French construction effort, who closed the sale of rights and properties to the United States for $40 million. Panama appointed him a plenipotentiary ambassador to the United States to negotiate a Canal treaty. He returned to Panama with the treaty in 1903, which paved the way for the canal's construction. Panama later considered him a traitor due to the treaty's terms, which the country considered most unfavorable. U.S. Secretary of State John Hay was his counter-signer.
• President Theodore Roosevelt – under President Roosevelt, the Canal project acquired life. After the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt felt the need to permit the U.S. Navy to sail between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. His only trip outside the United States while the president was to Panama to inspect the progress of the canal project.
• John Stevens – appointed by Roosevelt, John Stevens was the second chief engineer during the construction effort. He recognized yellow fever as the project's worst enemy and halted construction for one year to bring it under control. He also devised the train car system to clear dirt and rock from the construction site.
• Colonel William Crawford Gorgas – a U.S. military officer — stationed in Cuba — was sent to Panama and tasked with solving the yellow fever problem. Upon realizing mosquitoes caused it, he instituted sanitation protocols to eliminate breeding spots, which, looking back, was perhaps the single most crucial milestone in the canal's successful conclusion.
• George W. Goethals – after John Steven's abrupt resignation as chief engineer in 1907, Roosevelt appointed Goethals, an Army colonel, to oversee the project. Under his leadership, the army of workers found needed discipline. We owe him the happy conclusion of the project in 1914.