In 1914, the opening of the Panama Canal shortened the distance by sea between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by almost 7,000 miles, eliminating the need to round treacherous Cape Horn. One hundred years later, in 2014, a new third set of locks will be opened and the two other locks will be widened and deepened, allowing twice as much cargo to pass through the canal each year. The impact of this expansion is been widely discussed andyet no one will really know who will benefit the most until after 2014. The new canal locks will allow ships 25 percent longer, 50 percent wider and with drafts up to 50 feet to transit. Currently a “Panamax” containership can typically carry roughly 5,000 twenty foot containers. After the expansion, ships carrying up to 13,000 containers should be able to transit the locks.
In the mean time, yesterday, the New York Times featured panoramas of the current locks and of the construction. Definitely worth a look.