Expansion Panama Canal
Tuesday, June 2, 2009 13:25
Canal gets full upgrade
In addition to the vast budget already earmarked for the expansion of the Panama Canal specifically for the post-Panamax ships to be able to transverse the canal, a number of additional projects have been undertaken in modernizing and upgrading the canal as a whole. The most recent modernization projects at the Panama Canal, estimated to be valued at no less than $320 million, include the acquisition of an additional five tugboats, improvements to the turntable and track systems with the locks as well as a significant upgrading to the lighting with the various locks.
According to Manuel Benitez, the upgrades and modernization of the canal are in line with providing world-class facilities and services to customers of the Panama Canal, as well as keeping the canal as competitive as possible. The ACP also view the upgrades is an essential element in keeping the canal at a high value, as perceived by the global economy.
In re doing the lighting and upgrading the facilities of the canal the ACP state that they’ve improved visibility specifically for the larger ships transiting the canal, as well as focusing on safety and efficiency issues. The lights have been repositioned along the top of the canal wall to provide this greater visibility is specifically for the larger vessels that have very little space on either side of the ship, when in the locks.
In terms of the track and turn table system, instead of exchanging locomotives during the transit, as was the previous practice specifically in the Gatun locks, the vessels will now transit with the same set of locomotives from beginning to end of each lock set. This results in greater efficiency as well as a quicker transit time for the vessels. The time saving represented by the upgrade to the track and turntable system is reflected in the fact that an additional two Panamax ships will be able to navigate the canal per day will stop
The projects that have been undertaken for the upgrading of the canal includes an additional tie up station allow for quicker repositioning of each ship for each specific leg of the canal navigation. An additional five tug boats provide an output capacity of 4800 hp and a pool of more than 60 metric tons, an additional set of tugboats is expected in 2010 which will in turn fully modernize the canals tug fleet. Additional vessels that are expected include the dredging vessel that will be built in the Netherlands, as well as assisting vessels being overhauled to supplement dredging operations and procedures.
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