The Panama Canal is a connection between two oceans and a feat of humanity. How it was
Many people are interested in the question: where is the Panama Canal located? It is located in Central America, separating the North American continent from the South American continent. It is an artificial water channel connecting the Gulf of Panama in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic. The coordinates of the Panama Canal correspond to the subequatorial zone of the Western Hemisphere.
Characteristics of the structure
The Panama Canal connects 2 oceans - the Pacific and the Atlantic - with a narrow strip of water. It is located in the tropical zone of the northern hemisphere. Geographic coordinates of the Panama Canal: 9°12´ north latitude and 79°77´ west longitude. On August 14, 2014, the centenary of the official launch of this gigantic technical structure was celebrated.
The length of the Panama Canal is 81.6 km. Of these, 65.2 runs on land, and the remaining kilometers are along the bottom of bays. The width of the Panama Canal is 150 meters, and the width of the locks is 33 meters. The water depth in the canal is 12 meters.
Bandwidth is moderate. This is explained by the small width of the Panama Canal. Up to 48 ships can sail through it per day. But any ship, including tankers, can pass through it. When constructing ships, the width of the channel is taken into account, which determines the limit of their width. Approximately 14,000 ships pass through it every year, carrying a total of 280 million tons of cargo. This is 1/20 of the total value of all ocean transport. Such a dense flow leads to congestion of the canal with ships.
The price for passage of a vessel is very high and can reach up to $400,000.
The time it takes for ships to travel through the canal is more than four hours, with an average of 9 hours.
The described channel is not the only one of its kind. The Panama and Suez canals are quite similar to each other, being exclusively artificial structures.
Geographical features of Panama
A decisive role in the economy of Panama is the service of transit ships. This is an important source of income for this state. Panama was formed as an independent country in 1903, after secession from Colombia.
Panama is located on the narrowest part of the Central American Isthmus. A narrow mountain range runs through its center, with lowlands on both sides. There is extensive depression in the Panama Canal area, with a maximum height of only 87 meters above sea level.
The climate of Panama is divided into 2 types. In the part that faces the Caribbean Sea, it is humid tropical, with a vaguely defined wet season and the absence of a dry season. The amount of precipitation is about 3000 mm per year. On the Pacific side, the amount of precipitation is much less, and the dry season is quite clearly defined.
Resources of Panama
In Panama, large areas are covered with forests. In the north these are moist evergreen forests, and in the south they are semi-deciduous, with areas of open woodland. Due to slash-and-burn agriculture, there is a risk of river shallowing and disruption of the Panama Canal.
Among mineral resources, oil and copper deposits are of greatest importance. Fishing and agriculture play a major role in the economy.
Channel history
The construction of the Panama Canal was first discussed back in the 16th century. Then the construction was abandoned for theological reasons. It was only in the 19th century, against the backdrop of the rapid growth of ocean freight traffic, that real construction began. However, the project turned out to have little correspondence with the geographical realities of the places where construction was carried out. Thousands of construction workers died from tropical diseases, and the work itself was more difficult than it should have been according to the project, which led to cost overruns already at the initial stage of construction. The results were court cases and mass public protests in France, whose workers built the canal.
Among the accused was the creator of the famous Eiffel Tower - A. G. Eiffel. Due to all these failures, construction work was stopped in 1889. Panama Canal shares depreciated.
After 1900, the Americans took over construction. To do this, they decided to conclude an agreement with Colombia on the transfer of the right to use the strip of land where the canal was to be built. The agreement was signed, but the Colombian parliament did not approve it. Then the United States, by organizing a separatist movement, separated a piece of territory from Colombia, which became known as the Republic of Panama. After this, an agreement was signed with the authorities of this new republic on the transfer of rights to use this section of the territory.
Before starting to build the canal, the Americans decided to get rid of malaria mosquitoes. To do this, an expedition of 1,500 people was sent to Panama, who began draining the swamps and destroying mosquito larvae with pesticides. As a result, the risk of fever was reduced to an acceptable level by those standards.
Construction began in 1904 according to a new, more realistic project, which turned out to be successful. In addition to the canal itself, locks and artificial lakes were created to overcome the difference in altitude. 70 thousand workers were involved and $400 billion were spent, and the work lasted for 10 years. Almost every tenth worker died during construction.
In 1913, the last isthmus was officially blown up. To do this, a 4 thousand kilometers long cable was stretched from there to the office of US President Thomas Wilson, where a button was installed. At the other end there was 20,000 kg of dynamite. Various high-ranking officials attended the ceremony at the White House. The Panama Canal opened a year later. However, various problems prevented the canal from working, and only in 1920 did it begin to perform its functions sustainably.
Since 2000, the Panama Canal has become the property of Panama.
Channel benefits
The canal project was one of the largest in the history of mankind. Its influence on shipping in the world, and especially in the Western Hemisphere, is very great. This makes it one of the most important objects of geopolitics. Previously, ships had to go around the entire South American continent. After the opening of the canal, the length of the sea route from New York to San Francisco was reduced from 22.5 to 9.5 thousand km.
Technical features of the structure
Due to the location of the Isthmus of Panama, the canal is directed from the southeast (Panama Bay of the Pacific Ocean) to the northwest (to the Caribbean Sea of the Atlantic Ocean). The height of the canal surface reaches 25.9 meters above sea level. Therefore, artificial lakes and sluices were created to fill it. In total, 2 lakes and 2 groups of locks were created. Another artificial lake, Alajuela, is used as an additional source of water supply.
The canal has two passages designed for the movement of ships in both directions. Only on their own afloat, ships are not able to pass it entirely. To transport ships through the locks, special electric locomotives using railway tracks are used. They are called mules.
In order to sail smoothly through the canal, the ship must meet certain dimensions. The bars are set for the upper values of indicators such as length, height, width and depth of the underwater part of the vessel.
A total of 2 bridges cross the canal. A road and railway run along it between the cities of Colon and Panama.
Calculation of payments for vessel passage
The collection of payments is carried out by the Panama Canal Administration, which is the state property of the Republic of Panama. The amount of the fee is determined according to the established tariffs.
For container ships, payment is made based on the volume of the vessel. The unit of volume is TEU, which is equal to the capacity of a regular twenty-foot container. For 1 TEU you need to pay about $50.
For other types of vessels, the rate is calculated based on their displacement, expressed in tons of water. For one ton you need to pay about three dollars.
For small vessels, the amount of dues is determined by their length. For example, for vessels with a length of less than 15 meters, the amount is $500, and for ships with a length of more than 30 m - $2,500 (for reference: 1 dollar is 57 Russian rubles).
Modern modernization of the channel
Recently, work has been actively carried out to increase the channel's capacity. This is due to the growth of global trade turnover, in which China plays a decisive role. It was he who initiated the new construction work. The modernization began in 2008 and was completed in mid-2016. All work cost over $5 billion, but the costs will quickly pay off.
Thanks to its greater capacity, the canal can now serve supertankers with a capacity of up to 170 thousand tons. The maximum number of ships capable of passing through the Panama Canal per year has increased to 18.8 thousand.
It is symbolic that the first ship to sail through the reconstructed canal was a Chinese container ship. The expanded capabilities of this facility will make it possible to transport up to 1 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to China per day.
A feature of the modern reconstruction was the deepening of the bottom and the installation of wider locks.
Future plans
The constant growth of trade between countries and the increase in the number of ships will eventually lead to the need to build additional routes to pass through the isthmus. There are plans to build another canal, but through the territory of Nicaragua. Such projects appeared back in the 17th century, but were not implemented. Now the situation is completely different.
Thus, in 2013, the Nicaraguan authorities approved a project to build a canal on their territory, which could become an alternative and even a competitor to the Panama one. Construction costs here will be much higher - as much as $40 billion. Despite this, this project was approved in 2014.
Conclusion
Thus, the Panama Canal is one of the largest hydraulic structures in the history of mankind. The history of the projects of this building goes back several centuries. And although the canal was built by the United States, China now plays a decisive role in its future fate. Another trans-American canal for shipping is possible in the near future.
Panama Canal- a navigable artificial canal, 82 km long, located in Central America, on the Isthmus of Panama, in the Republic of Panama. Connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and is critical to international shipping and maritime trade. Construction of the canal began in 1881 and ended in 1914. According to statistics, about 14,000 ships pass through the canal annually, carrying about 203 million tons of cargo.
General information
Channel location
Scheme of passage of the lock complex of Lake Gatun
From the Atlantic Ocean, the Panama Canal begins at the Bahia Limon harbor. Bahía Limón). The harbor houses the deep-water port of Cristobal. Cristóbal), as well as the commercial port of Colon (eng. Colon). Then, a 3.2 km canal leads to the locks of Lake Gatun. The Gatunsky locks complex is 1.9 km long, with its help passing ships rise to the lake level to a height of 26.5 m above sea level. A separate canal, built in 2016, leads to a complex of locks Agua Clara, located parallel to the Gatunsky locks, and designed for the passage of standard vessels Neopanamax.
Ships travel 24.2 km along the artificial Gatun Lake to the natural waterway formed by the Chagres River. Chagres), flowing out of Lake Gatun. Along this river, ships travel 8.5 km and end up in an artificial valley, 12.6 km long, laid across the Culebra mountain range. Culebra). In this section, ships pass under the Centennial Bridge. Behind this section of the canal there is a single-stage Pedro Miguel lock, 1.4 km long, with which ships are lowered to 9.5 m. Behind the lock, at an altitude of 16.5 m above sea level, is the artificial Lake Miraflores, 1.7 km long.
Behind the lake there is a two-stage complex of Miraflores locks, 1.7 km long, with the help of which ships are lowered 16.5 m to sea level. Behind the locks, in the harbor, is the port of Balboa, with developed railway connections and the “Bridge of the Americas”. Not far from here is the capital of Panama - Panama City. A 13.2 km canal leads from the harbor to the Pacific Ocean, opening into the Gulf of Panama.
Channel configuration
Outline map of the Panama Canal
Due to the S-shape of the Isthmus of Panama, the Panama Canal is directed from southeast to northwest. The canal consists of two artificial lakes connected by canals and deepened river beds. There are three groups of locks along the canal. Three-chamber gateway Gatun, from the Atlantic Ocean, provides passage from Limon Bay to Lake Gatun. Double chamber gateway Miraflores and single chamber gateway Pedro Miguel from the Pacific Ocean they provide passage from Panama Bay to the canal bed. A new three-chamber airlock is located parallel to them Cocoli, for the passage of ships Neopanamax. The difference between the levels of the Panama Canal and sea level is 25.9 meters. Lake Alajuela acts as a reservoir and provides additional water supply.
The locks have the ability to ensure simultaneous oncoming traffic of ships along the canal. In practice, this opportunity is almost never used. The old lock chambers are 33.53 m wide, 304.8 m long, minimum depth is 12.55 m, and the volume of water held is 101 thousand m³. Large ships are guided through the locks by small railway locomotives called "mules". The traction force of the electric locomotive is about 11 thousand kg, the speed is 1.6 - 3.2 km/h.
Until 2014, the dimensions of ships passing through the canal were not to exceed the following dimensions: length - 294.1 m, width - 32.3 m, draft - 12 m, height from the waterline to the highest point of the vessel - 57.91 m. In low water conditions, you can obtain permission to pass a vessel with a height of 62.5 m. After the reconstruction of the canal, completed in 2016, the parameters of passing vessels increased and vessels up to 49 m wide, up to 366 m long and with a draft of up to 15 m became acceptable.
Also, during the reconstruction, new lock complexes were built. Along its length, the canal is crossed three times by bridges: the “Bridge of Two Americas” road bridge, the “Century Bridge” road bridge and the “Atlantic Bridge” bridge under construction. Between the Panamanian cities of Panama and Colon there are roads and railways running along the canal route.
History of construction
Prerequisites for creation
Vasco Nunez de Balboa. He was one of the first to explore the Isthmus of Panama at the beginning of the 16th century.
The discovery of Panama occurred in 1501, the discoverer was the Spanish conquistador Rodrigo de Bastidas. His comrade-in-arms, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, was the first to cross the Isthmus of Panama, spending several weeks traveling to the Pacific Ocean. Since that time, the idea arose of connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by water, without making a long journey around South America.
In 1502, Christopher Columbus founded the settlement of Santa Maria de Belém at the mouth of the Belém River. In 1509, the Spaniards founded a colony on the coast of the Gulf of Darien, and ten years later the city of Panama was founded. From the city of Panama and the Pacific Ocean, the extracted valuables were transported to Puerto Bello, to the Atlantic Ocean, along the Royal Route - Camino real.
In 1529, one of the Spanish officers with outstanding knowledge in mathematics and geography, Alvaro de Saavedra Ceron, developed four options for digging a canal. Without having time to acquaint influential persons of the state with these projects, he died. Five years later, King Charles V of Spain ordered the exploration of Panama for the presence of a waterway across the isthmus.
In 1550, the Portuguese sailor Antonio Galvao wrote a book describing four options for digging a canal. At the beginning of the 19th century, the German Alexander Humboldt, a naturalist and traveler, developed nine projects for the construction of a canal.
By the end of the 18th century, the flow of goods along the Royal Route began to dry up and the importance of the route for Spain began to decline. However, for the United States, this path, on the contrary, was increasingly important. In 1846, a treaty of friendship, trade and navigation was concluded between the United States and New Granada. The United States guaranteed the inviolability of the Isthmus of Panama, in return receiving the right to build a railway. In 1849, gold deposits were discovered in California and people flocked to San Francisco. During the construction of the road, significant funds and 60 thousand human lives were spent. Construction of the 80 km railway was completed in 1855. Trying to recoup costs, the company excessively inflated prices for its services and, over time, the number of railway customers decreased, preferring the cheaper, albeit longer, journey around Cape Horn. As a result of this, the road across the Isthmus of Panama fell into disrepair for the second time.
Under French control. 1881-1894
The first stages of canal construction
Since 1850, the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty was in force between the United States and Great Britain, according to which the parties renounced exclusive rights to build the canal. France, which was not bound by any treaty, took advantage of this provision. Entrepreneur Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal, created the Universal Interoceanic Canal Company. After Suez, he became a national hero, was elected to the French Academy of Sciences and received the title of engineer, without having any technical education. Having so many titles and unquestioned authority, he easily received permission from the Colombian government to build the canal.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place on January 1, 1880 at the mouth of the Rio Grande River. Up to 19 thousand people worked on the construction of the canal. Despite the breadth and scope of construction, only 10% of the canal was built in five years. The reasons for the delay were both unforeseen technical difficulties and a high percentage of worker illnesses. The proximity of malarial works contributed to the occurrence of outbreaks of yellow fever. The necessary medical care was not provided and the casualties among construction workers were gigantic.
The Isthmus of Panama is a complex geological area - a mountainous area covered with impenetrable jungle and deep swamps. The mountains are a jumbled mixture of hard rock and soft rock. During construction, workers passed six major geological faults and five centers of volcanic activity. Heat, high humidity, tropical rains, and floods of the Chagres River brought their negative impact. If engineers had had complete information about the geology of the isthmus, construction of the canal may not have even begun.
To ensure financing for the project, Lesseps, just as during the construction of the Suez Canal, decided to found a joint-stock company. In the case of the Suez Canal, the idea turned out to be successful and three years after the completion of the Suez Canal, shareholders began to make a profit. But in the case of the Panama Canal, the enterprise ended in complete failure.
Workers on the canal construction
In 1876, Lesseps bought the design of the engineer Vaz and the building permit. 10 million francs were spent for these purposes. According to a report compiled in 1880, the cost of building the canal was estimated at 843 million francs. Construction of the canal began on February 1, 1881. No locks or dams were envisaged; the canal was supposed to pass at sea level, and a tunnel was planned to be built in the area of the pass at the junction of the Veragua and San Blas mountain ranges.
At the end of 1887, guided by the advice of the young engineer Philippe Bunod-Varilla, Lesseps agreed to changes to the project, and it was decided to build a canal with locks. The highest level of the canal was supposed to be 52 meters, taking these circumstances into account, the project required revision. For further work on the project, the famous engineer Gustave Eiffel was called from Paris, who had just finished work on his tower. However, despite all efforts, work on the construction of the canal fell into disrepair and, due to lack of funding, was suspended at around 72 meters.
Trying to improve the financial condition of the project, in 1885 Lesseps and his colleagues decided to issue long-term winning loan bonds. Private companies did not have the right to issue such a loan; the consent of the government and parliament was required. The company, by bribing influential people, was able to obtain permission to issue bonds. About 4 million francs were spent on bribes, permission was received three years after the company’s request. Meanwhile, work on the isthmus was getting worse and worse, and the financial problems could no longer be hidden. Lesseps himself had already lost his former energy, and moral and physical fatigue was taking its toll.
Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez and Panama Canals
To stay afloat, the Panama Company issued two more loans that did not require government approval. By raising the rate on them to 10%, she tried to make the shares more attractive. In April 1888, deputies approved the loan, which was also supported by the president and the Senate. The loan limit increased to 720 million francs. However, the subscription to the bonds that had begun ended in failure - of the 254 million francs collected, 31 million were bank costs; in addition, the law required the creation of a reserve fund to guarantee the payment of winnings and the redemption of bonds. Lesseps and his son traveled around the country giving lectures, trying to avoid bankruptcy, promising timely completion of construction and associated financial improvement.
Deputies did not support the bill on preferential debt repayment and the company went bankrupt. On February 4, 1889, the Civil Court officially declared the Panama Company bankrupt and appointed a liquidator. At this point, after eight years of construction, the canal was 40% complete. By issuing bonds, 1.3 billion francs were collected, of which 104 million were paid to banks as commissions and 250 million were paid as interest on bonds and for their redemption. The contractors were paid 450 million francs, but the entire scope of work indicated in the estimate was not completed. During the liquidation process, it turned out that the company had no liquid assets left. The number of investors who lost their investments after the company's bankruptcy was close to 800 thousand people.
In 1892, information leaked to the press about the massive bribery of politicians in order to push through a law authorizing a loan for the Panama Company, which in turn carefully concealed the real state of affairs. 510 members of parliament who received bribes by bank check were charged with accepting bribes.
A trial was held of the leadership of the Panama Company - father and son Lesseps, Gustave Eiffel, several company managers and the former minister of public works. All defendants received various prison sentences, in particular G. Eiffel was sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 20 thousand francs. Four months later, by decision of the cassation court, the convicts were released. Ferdinand de Lesseps, due to his venerable age and services to his countries, was spared imprisonment. However, the emotional breakdown resulted in mental breakdown and insanity. In December 1894 he died at the age of 89. His son, Charles, lived until 1923 and was able to see the constructed canal in action.
After analyzing the construction of the canal, financiers made the assumption that investors could get their money back if construction of the canal continued. In 1894, a new Panama Canal Company was created in France, which continued work on the canal, but there was no significant progress in construction.
Under US control. 1904-1920
Transportation of selected soil
The New Panama Canal Company, organized in 1894 in France, negotiated with the US government to sell the enterprise. Having reached an agreement, the parties signed an agreement on February 13, 1903. For $40 million, the Company ceded to the US government the right to build the canal and the existing equipment. The Americans did not use private capital, but provided government funding for the construction. The canal design has undergone significant changes - the choice fell on the option of a canal with locks.
The latest advances in the field of medicine were used - by that time it had become clear that mosquitoes and mosquitoes were carriers of yellow fever and malaria, so unprecedented measures were taken on the construction site - in order to destroy insects, swamps were drained and plants were cut down. Sanitary and hygienic preventive measures were taken throughout the entire construction of the canal.
Having started construction, the United States decided to change the conditions under which work was carried out in Colombia. According to the new agreement, a strip of land 16 km wide passed from Colombian jurisdiction to the United States, and the cities of Colon and Panama were declared free ports. In return, Colombia received a one-time payment of $10 million and $250 thousand annually. The treaty was signed on March 18, 1903 and submitted for ratification in the parliaments of both states.
The Colombian Senate did not vote to ratify the treaty, demanding its sovereignty over the canal zone and greater compensation. In turn, the United States supported separatists determined to separate Panama from Colombia, which caused the Panamanian Revolution, which resulted in the formation of the new state of Panama with the capital of the same name.
Manual sampling of soil from the future channel
US President T. Roosevelt ordered warships in Colon and Acapulco to prevent Colombian troops from landing on the shores of Panama. The Panamanian Railway also refused to transport Colombian soldiers. A week after the start of the revolution, the United States recognized the independence of Panama and on November 18, 1903, concluded a new treaty with the young republic. According to the treaty, on February 26, 1904, the territory adjacent to the canal, with an area of 1,422 km² and a population of 14,470 people, was annexed by the United States and named the “Panama Canal Zone”.
Colombia did not risk open confrontation with the United States and admitted defeat. Construction of the canal resumed and continued with US forces. During construction under the direction of the United States, 5,600 of the 70,000 workers killed. Construction lasted ten years and cost $380 million.
Culebra notch
The Culebra excavation, in terms of the totality of the efforts made, the people involved and the finances involved, became a unique achievement of the Panama Canal. This work involved the passage of many kilometers between Gamboa, on the Chagres River, through the Continental Divide mountain range, south to Pedro Miguel. The lowest point of the pass was between Golden Hill and Contractors' Hill at an altitude of about 100 meters above sea level.
To destroy the rock, holes were drilled into which explosives were then placed. The crushed soil resulting from the explosions was extracted by steam excavators and loaded onto railcars for transportation to the dump site. The variety of construction equipment was much richer than during the “French” construction. The Americans used steam shovels, unloaders, spreaders, and track movers. The French only had excavators of much less power.
Steam shovel during construction of the Panama Canal
The soil was unloaded according to the following system: the unloader’s three-ton plow was placed on the last platform, and a cable ran from it to a winch located on the first platform. When activated, the winch began to pull the plow towards itself, unloading the train of 20 platforms in 10 minutes. One of these vehicles set a record for unloading, unloading 18 trains with a total length of over 5.5 km and a soil volume of 5,780 m³ in 8 hours. Twenty such unloaders with a staff of 120 people replaced the manual labor of 5,666 people.
Another invention during the construction of the Panama Canal was the spoiler. It was a railcar powered by compressed air, and on both sides there were dumps that changed the height if necessary. In the lower position, they covered several meters on each side of the railway track. As it moved forward, the spreader pushed and leveled the rock left by the unloader. This mechanism replaced 5-6 thousand workers.
The track mover was also invented during the construction of the canal, by the general manager of the construction in 1905-1907, William Bjord. A crane-like mechanism lifted an entire section of the railway, with rails and sleepers, and moved it in the required direction, more than two meters at a time. Considering that the tracks had to be constantly moved, following the progress of work, the importance of this invention could hardly be overestimated. Operated by 12 workers, this machine moved more than 1 km of track in a day, saving the labor of 600 workers.
Volumetric four-sided dump trucks from the company were also used to remove soil. Western and Oliver. Since the heavy clay stuck to the walls, the trolleys were used only to transport stones from the excavation to the Gatun Dam. Millions of cubic meters of excavated soil were used both for the Gatun Dam and to connect the islands of Naos, Perico, Culebra and Flamenco in Panama Bay to build a breakwater. The area between the mainland and Naos Island became particularly difficult - in this area the bottom was soft and tons of stones simply disappeared into it. One day the railway and piles were washed away by the sea, which required their re-construction. As a result, 10 times more material was spent on bulk work in this area than planned.
Start of construction of concrete structures
The excavated soil was used to fill 2 km² of the Pacific Ocean, creating an area for the construction of the city of Balboa and the military fort of Amador. The excavated soil was also used to build mounds in the jungle, the largest of which Tabernilla, contained over 10 million m³. The excavated soil was also used for the Gatun Dam. At the time of construction, the Gatun Dam on the Atlantic Ocean side was the largest dam, and the Gatun Lake formed by it was the largest artificial reservoir on Earth. There are two dams built on the Pacific side - the Miraflores Spillway and, built in the 1930s, the Madden Dam, higher up the Chagres River. After the completion of the Gatun Dam, the Chagres River valley, between Gamboa and Gatun, became Lake Gatun. After the completion of the Culebra Cut, the lake expanded to the Pedro Miguel Locks, across the Continental Divide.
From the beginning of construction to the present day, there remains a danger of earth landslides in the area of the Culebra excavation. The first landslide occurred near Cucarachi on October 4, 1907, collapsing hundreds of cubic meters of earth into the excavation. Until now, the Cucarachi area is considered a particularly landslide-prone area.
In 1908, in addition to excavation work, it was necessary to move the Panama Railway, in connection with the future formation of Lake Gatun. About 64 km of the track were re-laid. Work on laying the railway ended on May 25, 1912, funding for the work amounted to about $9 million.
In 1913, the construction of three giant locks was completed; the walls of the lock chambers reached the height of a 6-story building. More than 1.5 million m³ of concrete were used for each series of locks: Gatun, Pedro Miguel and Miraflores.
On August 15, 1914, the first ship, the Cristobal, passed through the Panama Canal; it took the ship 9 hours to pass through the canal, and the distance saved was 8 thousand km. A landslide in 1914 prevented the canal from officially opening that year, so the official opening of the canal took place on June 12, 1920.
To strengthen the defense of the canal, the US government acquired the islands of Margarita, Perque, Naos, Culebra and Flamenco from Panama. For 25 million dollars, the islands of St. John, St. Croix and St. Thomas were purchased from Denmark, in 1928 the Corn (Corn) Islands were purchased from Nicaragua, and the islands of Roncador and Quitasueño were purchased from Colombia.
Channel modernization. 2009-2016.
A dredging vessel works to widen the Panama Canal in Paraiso, August 31, 2007.
In October 2006, a referendum was held in Panama on the expansion of the Panama Canal. The project received support from 79% of the population. The Chinese business structures that manage the channel had a great influence on the adoption of the plan. After modernization was completed in 2016, the canal was able to accommodate oil tankers with a displacement of more than 130 thousand tons. This made it possible to significantly reduce the distance for delivering Venezuelan oil to China. By that time, Venezuela planned to increase oil supplies to China to 1 million barrels per day.
In July 2008, the tender for the construction of the third group of locks was won by a consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal, the start of work is scheduled for August 25, 2009. According to the agreement, the cost of the work was to be 3.118 billion dollars, and by mid-2014, work to modernize the canal should be completed.
In October 2008, negotiations were held with global creditors to raise money for the expansion of the Panama Canal. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation expressed its readiness to allocate funds in the amount of $800 million; European Investment Bank - $500 million; Inter-American Development Bank - $400 million; Andean Development Corporation and International Finance Corporation - $300 million each.
First stage. year 2012.
After completion of work. 2017
Scheme
During the modernization, work was carried out to deepen the bottom and wider locks were built. The canal's maximum throughput increased to 18.8 thousand vessels per year, and cargo turnover increased to 1,700 million m³ of various cargoes per year. Vessels with a displacement of up to 170 thousand tons were able to pass through the canal. $5.25 billion was spent on reconstruction of the canal. More than 30 thousand workers were involved in the modernization of the canal, seven people died during the work. The planned profit to the Panama budget from the work of the canal is $2.5 billion per year, by 2025 the profit will increase to $4.3 billion.
The consecration ceremony of the new sluice gates took place on June 26, 2016. The commissioning ceremony for the new channel was attended by representatives from Taiwan, Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic. Panama President Juan Carlos Varela called the event significant for his country.
After the expansion of the channel to replace the standard Panamax, the standard has arrived Neopanamax, which includes ships with a deadweight of up to 120 thousand tons, which is 50% more than standard ships Panamax.
Story
Early 20th century
One of the first ships to transit the Panama Canal
During World War I, the Panama Canal was under heavy security. In 1916, construction of a submarine base began in Coco Solo, near the canal. In 1917, the base could already serve a significant number of submarines. Despite all the fears, German warships did not approach the canal and did not carry out any operations in its area.
Presidential elections were held in Panama in 1908, 1912 and 1918. Each time the elections were held under the supervision of the US military.
In 1917, the United States entered the First World War, following this event, Panama also declared war on Germany, but troops did not take part in the fighting.
In 1918, US troops occupied the city of Panama and the city of Colon “to maintain order,” and in 1918-1920 they occupied the province of Chirique.
In 1921, Costa Rica made territorial claims against Panama and attempted to occupy disputed territories on the Pacific coast under the pretext of an international arbitration decision in 1914. The United States intervened in the situation and Costa Rican army units left Panama.
In 1936, the US government signed a new treaty with Panama, which removed some restrictions on Panama's sovereignty and increased the annual rent for the canal.
The Second World War
By the mid-20th century, it became clear that a submarine base alone was not enough to guard the canal. The Secretary of the Navy appointed a commission to determine the site for a new base in the Virgin Islands.
In May 1941, three R-class submarines from the 32nd Division arrived at the St. Thomas base. In the autumn of the same year, several more boats of the 7th squadron, based in Coco Solo, arrived at the base. Three R-class submarines from the 32nd Boat Division arrived at the base at St. Thomas in May 1941, and in the fall several boats from the 7th Squadron, stationed at Coco Solo, arrived. After the United States entered World War II, all submarine operations around the Virgin Islands were carried out from the base on St. Thomas.
At the very beginning of World War II, several German submarines penetrated the coast of Mosquito Bay, and German submarines also operated in the Caribbean Sea.
In March 1942, boats from St. Thomas carried out reconnaissance and surveillance of the French cruiser Jeanne d'Arc, located in Guadeloupe and aircraft carrier Bearn, off the island of Martinique. The submarines were always in the area of Martinique and Guadeloupe. The French authorities in the West Indies were loyal to the Vichy government and were under suspicion of connections with the Germans. After the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Vichy government, the latter promised that the ships would not leave their home bases. After this, surveillance of the French ships was stopped.
In the southern Caribbean, submarines from the Coco Solo base operated in the area of the San Andrews Islands, Old Providence Island, and other islands north of Panama. Despite reports of sightings of German submarines, no contact with them was noted during patrols. Following an intelligence report that there were no German boats in the area, patrolling in the area ceased in September 1942.
After the attack of Japanese carrier-based aircraft on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Americans had to fight a war on two oceans and the question arose of protecting the Panama Canal from the Pacific Ocean. Submarine forces have organized a patrol line stretching 800 miles from Balboa. The boats went to sea for about a month, 22 days of which they spent directly in position. The security was organized in December 1941 and lasted until the end of 1942. During this time, not a single Japanese ship was discovered.
In the spring of 1942, construction began on the Balboa submarine base. Until this point, boats based in Coco Solo had to pass through the canal to conduct patrols in the Pacific Ocean. The establishment of the base would ensure a good supply of boats in the Pacific Ocean and would facilitate the creation of a training center for boat personnel for operations in the Pacific Ocean. Until the end of 1943, the base was never completed, but there was no point in speeding up construction - the situation remained calm. At the end of 1942, submarine operations in the Panama Canal area ceased. In the Caribbean Sea, American anti-submarine ships fought with German submarines. No Japanese submarines appeared from the Pacific Ocean. By this time, air and surface anti-submarine forces were already well organized, so German submarines appeared less and less often off the coast of America.
In August 1945, Japan developed a plan to bomb the Panama Canal, but this plan was never implemented.
Recent history
Panama Canal Locks
In 1955, the governments of Panama and the United States entered into a new treaty regarding the status of the United States in Panama, but the United States retained control of the canal zone.
In November 1959, a Panamanian demonstration was shot by US troops. Panamanians tried to raise the Panama flag in the Panama Canal area.
On January 9, 1964, US military personnel opened fire on a protest demonstration near the borders of the Panama Canal Zone, the event led to an increase in anti-American sentiment in Panama, and mass anti-American protests began among the population of Panama.
On September 7, 1977, an agreement was signed in Washington between Panamanian President Torrijos and US President John Carter The Panama Canal Treaty, according to which the United States must transfer control of the Panama Canal to the Government of Panama on December 31, 1999.
in 1984, in connection with the demand of the government of Panama, the United States closed the “School of the Americas” - a military educational enterprise in the Panama Canal Zone, where military and police personnel were trained for the countries of Central and Latin America.
On December 20, 1989, the US military operation against Panama began. According to official statements by the US government, the goals of the operation were to protect American citizens living in Panama, remove General Noriega and bring him to trial as the leader of the drug mafia. The decision to carry out Operation Right Cause Just Cause) adopted by US President George W. Bush, December 17-18, 1989. The operation began on December 20 at 2 am, and by the morning all the main points of resistance were suppressed, in some places there was still resistance, but by the morning of December 25 all the fighting was over.
The Panama Canal was controlled by the United States until December 31, 1999, after which it was transferred to the Panamanian government.
Since December 31, 1999, the canal has been operated by a Panamanian state-owned company - Autoridad del Canal de Panama. Thanks to the Panama Canal, a new standard in shipbuilding emerged - Panamax. This standard designates the maximum size of a vessel that can navigate the canal. The main users of the channel are the USA, China, Japan, South Korea and Chile. The majority of cargo transported is grain; the volume of transportation is lower for oil and petroleum products; the volume of container transportation is dynamically developing.
The cost of passage through the canal is $2.57 per net ton of a loaded vessel and $0.86 per ton of an empty one. Pre-registration is required to pass through the channel, but if desired, during the auction, you can purchase the right of priority passage through the channel. In May 2011 the liner Disney Magic acquired such a right for 331.2 thousand dollars.
Records
In February 2017, a record was set for daily trade turnover - 1.18 million tons of cargo passed through the canal. In December 2016 and January 2017, records were set for monthly trade turnover - 35.4 and 36.1 million tons were transported through the canal, respectively.
On May 24, 2017, a new record was set in the Panama Canal - for the first time in the history of the canal, a container ship passed through it OOCL France, with a cargo capacity of 13,208 TEU. On August 22, 2017, this record was broken by a container ship CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt, with a capacity of 14,855 TEU.
In 2006, for passage through the Panama Canal of a cruise ship Norwegian Star paid $208,653.16. A week after the completion of the canal reconstruction, in the summer of 2016, for the passage of a Hong Kong-flagged container ship Mol Benefactor 829.4 thousand US dollars were paid.
The smallest fee - $0.36 - was paid by adventurer Richard Halliburton, who swam across the canal through the locks in 1928.
International treaties related to the Panama Canal
1846
Historical map of the Nicaraguan and Panama Canal projects
In 1846, in the capital of New Grenada, Bogotá, a treaty of peace, friendship, navigation and trade was concluded between the United States and New Grenada. This treaty, in Article 35, separately stipulated the construction of an interoceanic transit route through the Isthmus of Panama. According to the treaty, the United States received equal rights with Grenada to operate this route, be it a canal or a railroad. In exchange for the sovereignty of New Grenada over the isthmus, the United States received a guarantee that this route would always be open to them. The American-Colombian Treaty was the first in a series of subsequent conventions in connection with various projects of the inter-oceanic route through Central America and the struggle of the United States with France and Great Britain on this issue. At the same time, Great Britain and France were negotiating with Nicaragua about the construction of such an interoceanic route.
1849
In 1849, a US representative, without having the authority of the government to do so, signed a convention in Guatemala with the government of Nicaragua, according to which the US received the exclusive right to build a transport route between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Along this route, the United States could build fortifications and maintain troops, and, if necessary, block the channel for enemy military and merchant ships.
However, fearing complications in relations with Great Britain, this treaty was not ratified in the United States. Great Britain also had plans to build a canal in Nicaragua under its control and took measures to gain control of ports that could become the final destinations of the future canal.
The Convention also contained a clause that similar rights could be granted to other states after concluding similar treaties with Nicaragua.
1850 - 1868
Topographic map of the Panama Canal Zone. 1923
Against the backdrop of growing tensions between the United States and Great Britain, in 1850, at the initiative of the United States, the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty was concluded. The agreement determined the international legal status of the future channel. It excluded the possibility of subordinating the channel to absolute control for each of the contracting states. The agreement provided for equal conditions for using the channel both for citizens of the USA and Great Britain, and for citizens of other states that signed the agreement.
In accordance with the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, the United States entered into an agreement with Nicaragua in 1867, under which it received the right of free transit, pledging, in turn, to protect the neutrality of the canal and the sovereignty of Nicaragua. A clause of identical content was included in the 1860 trade agreement between Nicaragua and Great Britain.
The main provisions of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty were repeated in agreements concluded with Nicaragua by Spain in 1850, France in 1859 and Italy in 1868.
1869-1870
In addition to the 1946 US-Columbia Treaty, in 1869 and 1870 the United States attempted to negotiate an agreement with Colombia, which emphasized that only US and Colombian warships could pass through the canal and that enemy ships should not be allowed into the canal.
1878 - 1883
Caricature dedicated to the French selling the channel to the Americans
In 1878, the Colombian government authorized the construction of the canal to a French joint-stock company under the direction of the engineer Lesseps, who had previously designed and built the Suez Canal. The signed concession provided for the neutrality of the canal, the free passage of merchant ships even during war, the unhindered passage of warships flying the US or Colombian flag at any time, and the restriction of the passage of warships of other countries during war. However, the passage of warships of other states could be carried out if an agreement was concluded with Colombia providing for such an action.
In the United States, fears arose that this would increase the influence of states outside mainland America on the Panama Canal, so in 1881, US ambassadors in London, Paris, Berlin and Vienna declared that the neutrality of the Panama Canal was ensured by the United States and any attempts to establish additional guarantees of such neutrality , will be viewed in the US as an unfriendly action.
In response, Britain reminded the US government of the provisions of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850. Then, diplomatic correspondence on this issue was carried out between these countries until 1883, but no results were achieved.
1899-1901
In 1888, the French community involved in the construction of the canal went bankrupt and construction ceased. After the war with Spain, the United States returned to the canal issue in 1899. Taking into account the experience of the past war, the United States believed that the channel should be under their absolute control. In 1900, the Anglo-American agreement on the Panama Canal was signed, but it was not ratified by the US Parliament. In 1901, the Gay-Pounsfoot Treaty was concluded, which received approval in the parliaments of the United States and Great Britain.
The signing of this treaty canceled the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty and recognized the right of the United States to build the canal, its operation and management, as well as to ensure security along the entire length of the canal. The right of passage for all merchant and military ships under any flag was also confirmed, but the order for the passage of ships in wartime was not included in the treaty.
1902 - 1904
Panama Canal- a shipping canal connecting the Gulf of Panama 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 on land and 16.4 km along the bottom of the Panama and Limon bays (for the passage of ships to deep water).
The construction of the Panama Canal was one of the largest and most complex construction projects undertaken by mankind. The Panama Canal had an invaluable influence on the development of shipping and the economy as a whole in the Western Hemisphere and throughout the Earth, which determined its extremely high geopolitical significance. 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 vessels of all types to pass through, from private yachts to huge tankers and container ships. The maximum size of a ship that can transit the Panama Canal has become a de facto standard in shipbuilding, called Panamax.
Vessels are guided through the Panama Canal by the Panama Canal Pilot Service. The average time for a vessel to pass through the canal is 9 hours, the minimum is 4 hours 10 minutes. Maximum throughput is 48 vessels per day. Every year, about 17.5 thousand ships carrying more than 203 million tons of cargo pass through the canal structures. By 2002, more than 800 thousand vessels had already used the canal’s services.
In December 2010, the canal was closed to ships for the first time in 95 years due to bad weather and rising water levels as a result of incessant rainfall.
Story
Construction of the canal in 1888
Panama Canal Promotion
The original plan to build a canal connecting the two oceans dates back to the 16th century, but King Philip II of Spain banned the consideration of such projects, since “what God has united, 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 establishing an interoceanic canal; in 1825, a similar decision was made by the Congress of Central American States. The discovery of gold in California caused increased interest in the canal problem in the United States, and in 1848, under the Hayes Treaty, the United States received a monopoly right in Nicaragua to build all types of interoceanic communication routes. Great Britain, whose possessions adjoined Nicaragua, hastened to curb the expansion of the United States by concluding with them the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty in 1850 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 appeared: through Nicaragua (see Nicaraguan 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 in developing the Panama version was seized by the French. At that time, the attention of the United States was mainly attracted to the Nicaraguan variant. In 1879, in Paris, under the chairmanship of the head of the construction of the Suez Canal, Ferdinand Lesseps, the “General Interoceanic Canal Company” was created, the shares of which were purchased 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 Colombian government in 1878. An international congress convened before 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 excavation work was envisaged at 157 million cubic meters. yards In 1887, the idea of a lockless canal 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, the company stopped making payments on December 14, 1888, and work was soon stopped.
Spanish canal workers, early 1900s
Construction of the canal, 1911
In 1902, the US Congress passed a law requiring the President of the United States to purchase the property of the canal company, shares of the Panama Company railroad and a strip of land 10 miles wide from Colombia for the construction, maintenance and operation of the canal with the right of jurisdiction over the 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, to transfer the concession, the United States agreed to pay a lump sum of $10 million and then, after 9 years, $250 thousand annually while maintaining Colombia's sovereignty over the Panama Canal zone. These conditions were formalized in the Hay-Herran Treaty, but the Colombian Senate on August 12, 1903 refused to ratify it, since the concession agreement with the French company expired only in 1904, and according to its terms, if the canal did not begin to function by that time, it was Undoubtedly, all the structures erected by the company were transferred free of charge to Colombia. Interested parties in France and the United States now saw the only way out for the state of Panama to break away from Colombia and, as an independent state, formalize the legal transfer of the concession to the United States. The Frenchman Bunau-Varilla led the separatist movement and, with the assistance of the US navy, carried out the secession of Panama on November 4, 1903; On November 18, on behalf of the “Independent Republic of Panama,” he signed a treaty with the United States modeled on the Hay-Herran Treaty. The US conflict with Colombia was resolved only in 1921.
Under the Treaty of 1903, the United States received in perpetual possession "a zone of land and land under water for the construction, maintenance, operation, sanitary order and protection of the said canal," 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 in the event that the Republic of Panama, in the opinion of the United States, was unable to maintain order. The economic side of the Treaty repeated the Hay-Herran Treaty, which was not ratified by Colombia. On behalf of Panama, the agreement was signed by French citizen Philippe Bunau-Varilla 2 hours before the official Panama delegation arrived in Washington.
Construction began under the auspices of the US Department of Defense, and Panama actually became a US protectorate.
In 1900, in Havana, Walter Reed and James Carroll discovered that yellow fever was transmitted by mosquitoes, and proposed a method to reduce the danger of yellow fever by destroying mosquito habitats. Remembering the failure of the first attempt to dig a canal, the Americans sent out a mosquito-hunting campaign Aedes aegypti and malarial mosquitoes - carriers of yellow fever and malaria, respectively - a large expedition led by William Crawford Gorgas - 1,500 people. The scale of their activities is eloquently demonstrated by published data: it was necessary to cut down and burn 30 square kilometers of bushes and small trees, mow and burn grass over the same area, drain a million square yards (80 hectares) of swamps, dig 250 thousand feet (76 km) of drainage ditches and restore 2 million feet (600 km) of old ditches, spray 150 thousand gallons (570 thousand liters) of oils that kill mosquito larvae in breeding areas. As shortly before in Havana, this bore fruit: the prevalence of yellow fever and malaria decreased so much that the diseases ceased to be a hindering factor.
Panama Canal (USA), 1940
The US War Department began construction of the canal in 1904. John Frank Stevens became the canal's chief engineer. This time the right project was chosen: locks and lakes. Construction took 10 years, $400 million and 70 thousand workers, of whom, according to American data, about 5,600 people died. On the morning of October 13, 1913, US President Thomas Woodrow Wilson, in the presence of numerous high-ranking guests gathered at the White House, walked to a special table and pressed a gilded button with a majestic gesture. 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 separating the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans near the city of Gamboa. A four thousand kilometer long cable, specially laid from the jumper at Gamboa to the White House, obediently carried out the will of the president.
The first ship (an ocean-going steamer) passed through the canal 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 canal, the United States acquired nearby islands: the Pacific islands were received from Panama - Margarita, Perque, Naos, Culebra and Flamenco; The islands of St. were purchased from Denmark in 1917 for 25 million dollars. John, St. Cross and St. Thomas; in Nicaragua in 1928 - the Bread Islands and in Colombia - the islands of Roncador and Quitasueño. The official opening of the canal 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 government of Panama.
Channel configuration
Due to the S-shape of the Isthmus of Panama, the Panama Canal is directed from the southwest (Pacific Ocean 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 Atlantic Ocean, the three-chamber gateway “Gatun” connects Limon Bay with Lake Gatun. On the Pacific side, the two-chamber Miraflores lock and the single-chamber Pedro Miguel lock connect Panama Bay with 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-threaded, which ensures the possibility of simultaneous oncoming traffic of ships along the canal. In practice, however, usually both lines of locks work to allow ships through in the same direction. Dimensions of the lock chambers: width 33.53 m, length 304.8 m, minimum depth 12.55 m. Each chamber holds 101 thousand m³ of water. Guidance of large vessels through locks is provided by special small electric-powered railway locomotives called mules(in honor of mules, which previously served as the main draft force for moving barges along rivers).
The canal 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 permission to pass at a height of 62.5 m (205 ft), provided that the passage is in low water.
Along its length, the canal is crossed by three bridges. A road and a railway have been laid along the canal route between the cities of Panama and Colon.
Payments for channel passage
Canal tolls are officially collected by the Panama Canal Authority, a government agency of Panama. Duty rates are set depending on the type of vessel.
The amount of duty for 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 fee rate was $2.96 per ton up to 10 thousand tons, $2.90 for each of the subsequent 10 thousand tons and $2.85 for each subsequent ton.
The amount of dues for 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 business structures that manage 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 time it takes to deliver 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 work 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 canal will increase to 18.8 thousand vessels per year, cargo turnover - up to 600 million PCUMS. The reconstruction will cost $5.25 billion. Thanks to it, Panama's budget is expected to receive $2.5 billion in annual revenue from the canal by 2015, and by 2025, revenue will increase to $4.3 billion.
The start of work on the construction of the third group of locks is scheduled for August 25, 2009. The Panama Canal Authority entrusted this work to the consortium GUPC (Grupo Unidos por el Canal), which won the construction tender on July 15, 2008, offering to carry out the necessary work for $3 billion 118 million and complete construction by mid-2014. The main member of this consortium is the Spanish company Sacyr Vallehermoso.
Alternative
The territory of Nicaragua was considered as an alternative route for the interoceanic canal. The first preliminary plans for the Nicaraguan Canal arose in the 17th century.
see also
Notes
Links
- Between two oceans: Poseidon's Gate on the website of the magazine "Popular Mechanics"
- Official website of the Panama Canal Authority (Spanish) (English)
- Panama Canal webcams
The construction of the Panama Canal was one of the largest and most complex construction projects undertaken by mankind. The Panama Canal had an invaluable influence on the development of shipping and the economy as a whole in the Western Hemisphere and throughout the world, which led to its extremely high geopolitical significance. 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 narrow isthmus connecting North and South America has been considered a very promising place for creating the shortest route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans since the 16th century. In the 19th century, the development of technology and the need for such a route reached a point where the plan to create a canal through Panama seemed quite feasible.
In the 19th century, the development of technology and the need for such a route reached a point where the plan to create a canal through Panama seemed quite feasible.
1910 Map of the planned canal.
Inspired by the 10-year construction of the Suez Canal, the international company La Société Internationale du Canal Interocéanique in 1879 bought from the engineer Wise for 10 million francs the concession for the construction of the Panama Canal, which he received from the Colombian government, which controlled Panama at that time.
Fundraising for large-scale construction was led by Ferdinand Lesseps. Success with the Suez Canal helped him raise millions for the new project.
Soon after the canal design began, it became clear that this endeavor would be much more difficult to implement than digging a canal at sea level through a sandy desert. After all, the proposed route, 65 kilometers long, passed through rocky and sometimes mountainous terrain, while it was crossed by powerful rivers. And, most importantly, tropical diseases posed enormous health risks to workers.
However, Lesseps' optimistic plan envisaged the construction of a canal costing $120 million in just 6 years. The 40,000-strong team, almost entirely consisting of workers from the West Indies, was headed by engineers from France.
1885 French Panama Canal employees pose for a photograph.
Construction began in 1881.
1885 The workers came to receive their wages.
The Suez experience was of little help. It would probably be better in the long run if they didn't have the Suez Canal in their past.
David McCullough, "The Way Between the Seas"
1885 Jamaican workers push a cart loaded with dirt along a narrow gauge railway.
The project turned out to be a disaster. It quickly became apparent that building a canal at sea level was impossible and that the only workable plan was to build a chain of locks. At the same time, Lesseps stubbornly adhered to the plan to build a single-level canal.
1900 Workers carry out excavation work manually.
Meanwhile, workers and engineers died from malaria, yellow fever and dysentery, and construction was interrupted by frequent floods and landslides. By the time the gateway plan was adopted, it was already too late. An estimated 22,000 workers died. Construction was years behind schedule and cost hundreds of millions over budget.
1910 Abandoned French equipment in the canal zone.
The company went bankrupt and collapsed, destroying the hopes of 800 thousand investors. In 1893, Lesseps was found guilty of fraud and mismanagement and died in disgrace two years later.
1906 A man stands next to an abandoned French dredger.
In 1903, with the secret support of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia and in return awarded the US rights to the canal. The following year, the United States acquired the remains of the French company and continued construction.
1906 President Theodore Roosevelt sits in the cab of a crane during a visit to the canal construction site.
I took the canal zone and let Congress debate; and while the debate continues, the channel does the same.
Theodore Roosevelt
1908 American engineers sent by President Roosevelt.
Faced with the same disease problem as the French, the Americans embarked on an aggressive mosquito eradication campaign. (The link between malaria and mosquitoes was still a very new theory back then). This sharply reduced the incidence of illness and increased productivity.
1910 Mosquito exterminator at work in the canal area.
The channel of the Chagres River was blocked by the Gatun Dam, creating Lake Gatun, the largest artificial lake of those times. It stretches across half of a narrow isthmus.
January 1907. Earthworks at the site of the Gatun lock.
Massive locks were built at both ends of the canal on the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. These 33-meter-wide structures allowed ships to pass through a series of chambers with controlled water levels, rising to the height of Gatun Lake and the canal, 26 meters above sea level.
1910
The most difficult was the passage of the 13-kilometer section of Culebra through a mountain range, 64 meters high. 27 thousand tons of dynamite were used to blow up almost 80 million cubic meters of earth removed by steam shovels and trains.
1907 A dredge removes soil after a landslide in Culebra.
Due to an incorrect assessment of the composition of geological strata, excavation work was constantly subject to unpredictable landslides, the consequences of which sometimes took several months to combat.
1910 The railway, displaced after a landslide. 
April 8, 1910. A man stands on the west bank next to the Pedro Miguel Lock under construction. 
November 1910. President William Howard Taft (left) visiting Gatun Lock with Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes (seated right) and Chief Engineer Colonel George Goethals (standing right). 
November 10, 1912. Construction of the Miraflores lock. 
August 1912. A man is standing in one of the locks. 
June 1912. View of the construction of the Culebra section from the western shore. 
August 6, 1912. 
November 1912. View from the top of Gatun Lock looking north towards the Atlantic Ocean. 
June 1913. One of the deepest points on the Culebra stretch. 
1913 
1913 
1913 
November 1913. Workers are struggling with the consequences of a landslide. 
1913 Workers take a break at the top of the lock. 
1913 The train and the crane crossed paths at the Pedro Miguel lock. 
1913 Gateway during construction. 
1913 Engineers stand in front of the canal's massive sluice gates. 
August 8, 1913. Construction of the Gatun Lock between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Gatun. 
February 1, 1914. Men watch a dredger work to clean up the aftermath of a landslide in Cucarache. 
1913 The spillway of the Gatun Dam, which separates the artificial Gatun Lake, the main part of the canal.
On December 10, 1913, a passable water route between the two oceans was finally created. On January 7, 1914, the French floating crane Alexandre La Valley made its first passage through the canal.
October 9, 1913. An explosion near the city of Gamboa opens the way for the canal to the Pacific Ocean. 
1913 The explosion of the dam that separated the canal from the Atlantic Ocean.
Today, 4% of all world trade passes through the Panama Canal, about 15 thousand ships a year. Plans are underway to build an additional set of wide locks, as well as a competing channel through Nicaragua.
The largest fee for passage through the canal is 142 thousand for a cruise ship. The smallest fee was $0.36 for adventurer Richard Halliburton, who swam across the canal through the locks in 1928.
1913 
1914 
October 1913. The Miraflores Lock gate opens for inspection. 
September 26, 1913. Tug U.S. Gaton is the first to pass through the Gatun lock. 
April 29, 1915. S.S. Kronland passes through the Panama Canal.
The idea of connecting the two oceans with an artificially dug canal arose back in the 16th century. from the Spanish conquistadors. However, the Spanish King Philip II spoke out against this idea. And 300 years passed before they started talking about the canal again. Ferdinand de Lesseps, inspired by the successful construction of the Suez Canal, planned to connect the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in this way. In 1881 he began work, but this time he was destined to fail. The ambitious project had to be abandoned just seven years after it began. The consortium created for the construction suffered financial failure.
In 1902, people who bought what was left of the consortium's farm resold it to the United States for $40 million. At that time, Panama was still under Colombian jurisdiction. This prevented the Americans from simply showing up and starting digging their own canal. President Theodore Roosevelt supported the Panamanian independence fighters and led them to victory. By 1903, Panama had become an independent sovereign state and work could resume. The first ship passed through the new Panama Canal on August 15, 1914. According to the treaty between Panama and the United States, the Panama Canal was to remain the property of the United States “forever.”
Approximately 80 km long, the Panama Canal passes through the city of Colon on the Atlantic coast and the artificial Lake Gatun on the Pacific coast. Thanks to the canal, the sea route from San Francisco to New York, instead of 26,000 km, became only 10,000 km. The water level in the Atlantic is only 24 cm lower than in the Pacific Ocean. However, due to the uneven mountainous landscape, ships have to pass through 3 locks on their way to rise 26 m to the level of Lake Gatun. The channel is wide enough for ships to move towards each other with virtually no delays. The size of the locks limits the size of ships that can pass through the canal, and these numbers are known to mariners as "Panamax". Ships must be no more than 294 m in length and 32 m in width to qualify as a Panamax vessel. They must also have a draft of no more than 12 m.
Since the Panama Canal opened in 1914, more than a million ships have been recorded passing through it - 14,000 of them in 2005 alone. The owners of the Panama Canal receive payment for all ships passing through it. When the United States ceded control of the canal to the Panamanian government in 2000, the responsibility for maintaining it fell on the shoulders of the Panamanian government. Fees, depending on the size of the vessel and the weight of its cargo, average up to $2 billion per year. However, it is no longer a secret that the canal’s capacity does not satisfy the demands of modern shipping. Not only has the number of ships sailing from the States to Asia and back increased, their sizes have also increased. The dimensions of the ships, the so-called post-Panamanian class, do not allow them to pass through the canal. Therefore, it is planned to modernize the canal by 2014.
Dates
- 1881: A French consortium begins construction of the canal.
- 1902: The remaining French assets were purchased by the United States for $40 million.
- 1903: Panama gains independence and construction work resumes.
- August 15, 1914: The canal is opened to navigation.
- 1920-1999: The channel is owned by the United States.
- January 1, 2000: US cedes title to Panama. DATA
- Length: The length of the canal is 80 km, with locks.
- Traffic density: Since 1914 About a million ships have been recorded passing through the canal. The average annual gate fee is $2 billion. Up to 45 ships pass through the canal every day.