| Operation of the Panama Canal |
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| The logo of the Panama Canal Authority, the Operator of the Canal |
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On December 31, 1999 Panama became the sole owner and operator of the Panama Canal taking over control from the United States which had been operating the canal since its construction beginnings on November 18, 1903. The organization within the Panamanian Government that has assumed the responsibility for the operation of this strategic waterway is the ACP, Autoridad del Canal de Panama, or the Panama Canal Authority. A sister agency, ARI, assumed control of all facilities left to Panama by the United States less the Canal and locks themselves. |
Plans have been prepared for expansion of the Canal so that new ships of much greater size than most of those of today's merchant fleets can fit through the Canal. Current size limits are called Panamax limitations for maximum size that can fit through the locks.
For a complete plan date April 24, 2006 that details this Third Set of Locks concept, go to this page on the Internet:
http://www.pancanal.com/eng/plan/documentos/propuesta/acp-expansion-proposal.pdf
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| Miraflores Locks as they appear today. Notice the waterway in the top half of the photo to the right of the existing locks above the present locks. That was a Third Set of Locks started by the U.S. in 1938 and halted because of WWII. Panama proposes to use this same digging as the entry into a new set of lock chambers made large enough to accomodate all modern ships for the foreseeable future. |
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This fantastic satellite view below of the Isthmus of Panama where the Panama Canal is located shows clearly the changes that are taking place since the turnover of the Canal to Panama. Deforestation has raised its ugly head, and rainforest land that was once protected by the U.S. so as not to be destroyed is now under attack. This causes the natural flow of rainwater going down to the rivers to take all the soil with it into the water which eventually flows into the Panama Canal.
Panamanian authorities are now alarmed by this and are taking steps to stop this threat to the Panama Canal which they solely own and operate.
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| Landsat 7 view of Panama Canal. Water on this photo shows up in black. The deforestation that is taking place shows as well in different colors as the land is cut down and the ground exposed. This can be seen all around Gatun Lake, the critical water supply that makes the Canal operable. |
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| Pedro Miguel Locks which raises the ship to the 85' Gatun Lake level or lets it down to the 54' Miraflores Lake level |
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| Much more to come in this section including a whole lot of material on the new expansion of the Panama Canal which is underway right now (2008). |
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