
A Week In The Life Of The Panama Canal

Ships, color-coded based on the Panama Canal Authority's market segment categorization, dwell on either side of the canal. As the first ships begin to transit the canal, callouts identify their overall route, tonnage, and more. A clock in the upper left corner tracks the passage of time and shifts from day to night. It generally takes about 8–10 hours for a ship to transit the canal entirely, from one ocean to the other.
As ships move through the canal in both directions, a legend on the lower left side tracks the number of transits, organized by market segment. Ships slowly eke through the locks on both ends, highlighting the slowest parts of the transit. The map shows a generalized version of the route ships take through the canal and across Gatun Lake.

At the end of the week, graphics and maps summarize transits by market segment and tonnage. In this average week, vessels categorized as 'Other' led with 69 total transits. Though it only accounted for 53 transits, the Dry Bulk segment saw 1.99 million tons of cargo transit the canal. In terms of weekly tonnage, ships following the East Coast US to Asia route were responsible for the most cargo moved through the canal.
In late 2023, the number of daily transits dropped
to a low of 22 due to water levels in Gatun Lake. Water from the lake powers the locks for the canal, so lower water levels mean fewer transits. While conservation efforts have stabilized operations, concerns about increasingly dry seasons persist. Gatun Lake also supplies drinking water for parts of Panama. During droughts, locks in the canal recycle more water. This has slowly increased the salinity of the lake and has put the country's water supply at risk.




Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Comments
No comment