Panama Canal

[Hughie]

In response to our bucket list topic
We can tick this off our bucket list... or maybe not. The new larger Panama Canal opens in 2016. Apart from the first photo, the others were taken by me, mostly from deck eleven - forward on that third tier - immediately below the ship's bridge. Click for larger images


Above, leaving the Pacific Ocean and entering Miraflores Locks. Surprised to see the linesmen use a row boat to get a line from the ship to the land tugs.


There are six ships in the above photo - wife counted over fifty ships at anchor waiting for the go through.




Who said piloting a ship through the Panama Canal was for the birds.


Turntable for the land tugs. Enlarge and you'll see the traction track in between the rails for the tugs.


Squeezing through at Gatun Locks heading for the Atlantic Ocean (via the Caribbean Sea). Note the extention of the ship's bridge above the land tug.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal
Webcam: http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html

[chriso]

Hughie, your photos got me thinking about the difference between the Panama Canal, and the Suez Canal, and here's links I found with some information.




http://beforeitsnews.com/eu/2013/05/pan ... 21474.html

[Hughie]

Thanks, Chris. Good that it was speeded up - the whole transit for us took about eight hours and was very enjoyable. We started in Vancouver.

Bang goes the kids' inheritance - bricks and mortar is all that's left.

[michaelm]

Interesting topic, some excellent photos and a good wee short educational video on the 'Panama v Suez'.

I read on the Wiki site that the highest toll paid to go through it was $375,600 - charged to the cruise ship 'Norwegian Pearl' in 2010 (although if the link hasn't been updated recently, that price may well have been exceeded by now.)
And the lowest was only 36 cents - paid by an American chap who swam the length of it in 1928.

There's also queue jumping - and some shipping company's are willing to pay over the odds for 'priority passage''
But I'd imagine if they have certain contractual deadlines to meet, then it might be seen as worth it to pay up to 10 times the usual toll amount to get to the front of an 80 vessel queue which might otherwise take a week to clear.

It must have been a fantastic holiday though Hughie.

[BWalsh]

Good pictures Hughie.
Interesting point, you would think the Panama Canal is an East to West waterway but its more a North to South ( and vice versa) canal.

[Hughie]

There's also queue jumping - and some shipping company's are willing to pay over the odds for 'priority passage''

Yes Michael, Cruise ships pay a premium, as they all want to transit the canal during daylight hours as you might imagine.

Bernard, never thought of the canal going North / South, but looking at the map I can see that now.