The Panama Canal Today

December 31st, 1999 was the day when the Panama Canal reverted officially to Panamanian control. This day was the equivalent of a second independence day for Panama which finally enjoys "total sovereignty."

When we think of what was once called "The Big Ditch," most of us think of a short-cut for ships to go from the Atlantic to the Pacific or vica-versa. But Panamanians think of how a foreign country controlled a 12 mile wide, 50 mile long swath of the most valuable land down the center of their country for the past 85 years. They never could develop that land to service the 14,000 ships going through the Canal annually, including 200 cruise ships.

At last that has changed. Fueling, supplying, and repairing ships and containers, entertaining crews, as well as cruise ship passengers while providing a broad range of transportation functions has sparked a building boom in this small country.

Two tourist-oriented cruise ports have been built, one on the Alantic entrance to the Canal in Colon, the other on the Pacific entrance on the Amador Causeway. Cargo container handling capacity alone has mushroomed in a few years from a few hundred thousand to 2,000,000 TEUs per year.

A large portion of the former American Canal Zone is being transformed into a "multi-modal transportation hub"-the term Panamanians use to describe what happens when largest Free Trade Zone in the world will connect with a fast, new coast to coast railroad, a superhighway, the Canal and various prize airports.

On October 22, 2006 Panamanians voted in a national referendum to expand the size of the canal in order to accomodate the larger post-panamax ships. Bidding and contracting procedures are underway, and the expansion will double the canal's capacity by building a third lane of traffic and a new set of locks.

A well-established international banking center and a superlative geographical location for warehousing and world trade completes Panamá's impressive balance sheet of assets. This country is ready for take-off!

It wasn't always this way. Back in 1904, US President Teddy Roosevelt fought a tide of public sentiment to build the interoceanic waterway in Nicaragua. In a pivotal legislative debate, a dour, plain-spoken Illinois Senator named Marcus Alonzo Hanna gave the "speech of his life, " and turned opinion in favor of Panama. Path Between the Seas author David McCullough says that Senator Hanna used a photograph of a simple stone arch in Panama City that had stood unbroken for 400 years to convince wavering politicians that in Panama, there would be no worries about an earthquake destroying the canal. A postage stamp showing a volcano in Nicaragua was the proof used to show the danger of building there.

When an acceptable treaty with Colombia could not be negotiated, President Roosevelt did what he customarily did to get his way. He used gunboat diplomacy by sending some warships. Soon enough the province of Panama seceded from Colombia. America recognized its government immediately and signed the contract to build the Canal.

The reversion of the Canal back to Panama began soon after ratification of the Carter-Torrijos Treaties in 1977. More and more Canal jobs were taken over by Panamians until by 1999, 98% of the jobs were held by Panamanians. Almost all former Canal Zone properties were put in Panamanian hands well before the December 31st deadline. Due to good planning and cooperation between all parties, service has continued without interruption.

CAN PANAMA RUN THE CANAL AS WELL AS THE AMERICANS?

Yes, is the answer, by most experts. By 1999, already 98% of the Canal employees were Panamanian and the Canal is still functioning smoothly. Government corruption which would affect the administration, is clearly on the wane in Panama. Security, including threats from the neighboring civil war in Columbia, are being seriously addressed by the present government. In the case of any truly serious threat to the Canal, the United States has made it clear it is ready to help Panama in anyway.

In fact, now that the Canal will be run on a for-profit basis, Panama has a major incentive to run it even more efficiently. For example, a new satellite system being installed will enable pilots to navigate the passage of ships so precisely, it will increase Canal traffic ( and therefore revenues) by 30%.

SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE CANAL

• 22,000 people lost their lives in the building of the Canal, the majority dying from yellow fever and malaria.
• America was able to succeed in building the Canal where the French failed for primarily two reasons: It built a lock Canal instead of a sea level canal as the French attempted and with the discovery of the mosquito as the cause of yellow fever and malaria it successfully carried out programs to eliminate the mosquito.
• The American effort took 10 years(1904-1914), 5,609 lives lost to disease and accidents, moved 232,000,000 cubic yards of rock and soil and poured 4,400,000 cubic yards of concrete.
• Combined American investments in the Canal since 1904 were close to $1,000,000,000.
• The difference between the length of one lock and the height of the Empire State Building is only 250 feet.
• The dirt excavated to make the Canal would form a city block-size column 19 miles high.
• A little known fact is that 4 days after the Canal officially opened, it was rocked for one hour by an earthquake of a magnitude thought to exceed that of the famous 1906 San Francisco quake. There was absolutely no damage whatsoever to the Canal, although walls were cracked in Panamá City. Earthquakes are rare in Panama and no other powerful earthquake has struck the area since.
• 12,000 ships transit the Canal each year.
• Each lock chamber holds and releases 2,675,200 cubic meters of water with each ship that passes through. This is equivalent to a one-day supply of water for a city of 100,000.
• The transfer of the Panama Canal Zone from the US to Panama was one of the largest real estate transfers in history. The Canal Zone land and facilities are valued at over 4 billion dollars.

TO SEE THE CANAL
One place to view the Canal is from the "Bridge of the Americas" which crosses the Canal at the Pacific side just outside Panama City. Most people prefer the Miraflores Locks, a 20 minute drive from the city. At the Miraflores Locks there is an observation deck where you can watch as each huge mass of floating steel is gently shoe-horned into the locks. Water levels seem to magically lift and lower each leviathan to the appropriate level for passage. There are bilingual guides, pamphlets and museum with a Canal model and film presentation.
Another good way to see the Canal is with a tour operator who will give you a city tour at the same time.

(See Tour Operators)

In the Casco Viejo section of the city there is an excellent new Panama Canal Museum in a beautifully restored building that served as the original headquarters for the French and then the Americans. (tel: 211-1650)

TAKE A VIRTUAL MUSEUM TOUR
One of the Smithsonian Institutes first virtual museum exhibitions is all about the Panama Canal. Check it out: Make the Dirt Fly