Wit and Catharsis: Day Seven: The Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is one of the few things I actually remember learning about in elementary school, and even then I thought it was both crazy and cool. I had a preconceived notion of what the Panama Canal would be like - a large ditch dug through the isthmus – but it’s not like that at all. We got up early in the morning to watch as we passed through. Here are some facts about the crazy cool canal:

1. The French started building the canal and after sinking millions of dollars and losing 20,000+ men to yellow fever and malaria, they gave up the project.

2. The U.S. took the project over and before continuing building, set about eliminating yellow fever and malaria, at which they were largely successful thanks to the recent discovery that mosquitos were the culprits.

3. The project took about 10 years and was incredibly tedious. It rains about 240+ inches a year and workers worked as fast as they could to dredge and dig, and by the end of the day, it was filled with water again.

4. The Canal opened in 1914. The first ship went through the day WWI started.

5. The canal is super narrow. At the time it was built, the canals were wide enough to accommodate virtually any ship; however, that is no longer the case. Currently, another canal is under construction to allow larger ships through. It is scheduled for completion in 2014.

Using the Canal

Ships wanting to pass through the canal wait in line an average of 12 – 24 hours. You can make a reservation, of sorts, to assure you pass through in a timely manner. Though it will save you time, it will cost you as much as purchasing a luxurious mid-sized sedan - $35,000. In order to pass through, all ships are also assessed a toll based on number of passengers, cargo weight, and ship size. Our ship’s toll was $350,000, meaning that to pass through they forked over a total of $385,000. From these tolls, the Panamanian government brought in well over $2 billion in revenue last year. In an effort to avoid the hefty fees, many cargo ships unload onto trains just before reaching the canal and the train is met on the other side of the canal by another freighter ship that reloads – all of this costing less than passing through the canal.

Fact: Cargo ships carry on average about 4500 shipping containers

How it Works

There are actually 2 sets of locks. You pass through the first set into Gatún Lake, cross the lake into the second set and then out into the Pacific.

Pilot's shuttle

Assuming you’ve paid a whopping reservation fee or have waited patiently, you line up for one of the two lanes of the canal. A special pilot boards the ship and takes over because this is no small maneuvering feat. As mentioned before, the canals are narrow - this ship had only about 2 feet of space on either side, and I’m pretty sure the one next to us had even less room. Along each side of the canal and spaced down the length of the ship are locomotives, or mules. These mules have cables attached to the ship that are pulled taught in order to keep the ship from budging side to side. The ship uses its own motor to power through the locks, but the mules keep exact pace and hold the ship tightly in line.

Water pours into the locks from Lake Gatún through enormous tunnels about the size of a typical New York subway tunnel. Ships are raised 85 feet between the three locks, which requires about 52 million gallons of water per ship. At 35 ships per day, it’s a wonder the lake still has water in it, but it apparently rains so much here the lake has an extra spillway that usually has a substantial amount in it.