Excerpts from an article in the current Frommer's newsletter:
Panama Breaks Ground on Canal Expansion On September 3, the $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal got its start when demolition experts blasted away a hillside near the village of Paraiso, north of Panama City. Some 30,000 invitees and spectators -- including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who oversaw the 1977 treaty that arranged for the canal to revert from U.S. to Panamanian control -- were on hand for the event.
"It's a historic day," said Dani Ariel Kuzniecky, Panama Canal Authority chairman and Panamanian Minister for Canal Affairs. "Expansion will have a significant role in world trade and the maritime industry.. . .
. . . At its construction, the canal was able to easily accommodate the largest ships in the world, but today many tanker, cargo, and passenger ships are far too large to pass. Those built to what's become known as Panamax specifications -- just small enough to squeeze through -- do literally that: The maximum beam (width) for a Panamax ship is 106 feet, just four feet narrower than the walls of the canal lock . . .
. . .
Panama's expansion plan calls for the digging of a new, 60 per cent wider channel that will parallel the existing canal along its narrowest sections on either side of Gatun Lake. It will effectively double the canal's capacity, and from a cruise perspective will allow the largest cruise lines greatly expanded flexibility. Royal Caribbean, for example, will be able to reposition its huge Voyager and Ultra-Voyager ships from the Caribbean to the Mexican Riviera and Alaska, if it so chooses, and Cunard will be able to sail Queen Mary 2 between the seas rather than making the trek around Cape Horn.
The expansion is expected to be complete by 2014, and will eventually be paid for by higher tariffs on vessels using the canal.
Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers
-
Centrum Deck
-
Cruise Places
-
Panama Canal
-
Canal Expansion Begins!
#
Linear Mode
