Panama Canal - length 77.1km (48 miles )The biggest ship could transit the canal are of size bet 65,000 - 70,000 tonnes deadweight, thats means the cargo should be around 52,000 metric tonnes Ships should not more than 235 metres length and 32 metres breadth, and so the term panamax derived, this is to accomodate the size of the locks at both ends of the canal..Another constraint is that the draft should not exceed 12 m, if not the excess cargo had to be offloaded or being refused to transit.In determining the draft , ship officer should be particularly concern at the loading port, much worse is that the sea water density is much different in Panama i.e at sg 0.9985 where else at loading ports usually have sg of 1.010 -1.025.Water consumption, fuel oil and duration of voy bet loading port to Panama to be considered *&calculate as to arrive exactlly just at 11.90 - 12.00m.. Locks are placed at each end, 3 locks each end as to accomodate for the height of Gatun Lake which are of 26 metres above sea level.The canal are built in 1881 but being abandoned in 1889 due to engineering difficulty, lack of modern equipments and many fatalities due to malaria.The American took over than from the France in 1904 and completed in 1914.The Panama Canal shorten the lengthy and dangerous route via Drake Passage or Straits of Magellan, the southern most tip of American Continent.However the toll charges thru the Panama Canal are also expensive with around us$72.00 per teu container, just imagine of how much to be paid if carry 4,000 teu container.,for passenger ships around us 92.00 - us $ 115.00 per passenger.Cargo ships normally paid us $ 55,000 - 80,000 per transit.Each year about 14,000 ships use the canal.Normally transit time took bet 12 - 20 hours depending upon the traffic density .Thru out my 26 years of sailing I did just manage only 8 times transit thru this canal..Cargo carried are grain mostly soyabean & wheat,from New Orleans,,Coal & sawn timber from Canada & US West Coast to Europe and Scandinavian, Steel products from Europe ( Hamburg, Bremen, Sweden ports ) to US West Coast ( Los Angeles,Oakland and Portland )...The longest ever voy via Panama was in 2003 , dep Roberts Bank, Canada on Nov 23rd, with Coal for Raahe,Finland ( 64.7 deg N 023.78 deg E )., arrived Jan 1st, 2004, with steaming time of 817.3 hrs ( 34 days 13 hrs excluding transit time ) which covered distance of 10,272 nautical miles.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 14:32:12 +0000
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