Lewin of Greenwich Naval History & Forum

We did a cruise from Seattle Washington State to Port Canaveral Florida, via the Panama Canal last June, unfortunately heavy rain made photographs, somewhat bleak, this is of a new bridge being built close to the Caribbean exit.

Republic of China (ROCS) Pan Chao ROCS-1108 waiting to enter Panama Canal Caribbean side.

I have been through the Panama canal several times, in RN & MN ships. It was always an impressive experience . In an oil tanker which just fitted into the locks we had to run the main engines at nearly full power to get into the locks in a reasonable time, we were so wide it was like a piston into a cylinder. I understand that a newer wider section has now opened. On a personal note, one MN ship I was in was waiting to go through the canal. While we were waiting we carried some repairs to the ship's boilers, during which I was scalded & had to spend some time in a Panamanian hospital.

No lasting damage I hope mate ,

More from the Panama Canal 2nd May 2018, The Bridge of the Americas, joins North and South America.

Well done Barry good pics , thanks for sharing these

oldsalt wrote: ↑Sun Aug 26, 2018 1:38 pm I have been through the Panama canal several times, in RN & MN ships. It was always an impressive experience . In an oil tanker which just fitted into the locks we had to run the main engines at nearly full power to get into the locks in a reasonable time, we were so wide it was like a piston into a cylinder. I understand that a newer wider section has now opened. On a personal note, one MN ship I was in was waiting to go through the canal. While we were waiting we carried some repairs to the ship's boilers, during which I was scalded & had to spend some time in a Panamanian hospital.

The Panama Canal's new set of lock chambers are 427 m (1,400.92 ft) long, 55 m (180.45 ft) wide, and 18.3 m (60.04 ft) deep.
The two original lock chamber sets are 1,050 ft (320 m) long with a usable length of 1,000 ft (305 m), 110 ft (33.53 m) wide, and 40 ft (12.2 m) deep.

General characteristics New Panamax
Tonnage: 120,000 DWT
Length: 366 m (1,201 ft)
Beam: 49 m (161 ft)
Height: 57.91 m (190 ft)
Draft: 15.2 m (50 ft)
Capacity: 13,000 TEU

[url]https://www.britannica.com/topic/P ... anal/Locks[/url]

The new chambers and basins, which will control the water flowing from Gatún Lake, were designed to minimize the turbulence of water flow and the disturbance to transiting vessels. The basins were completed in June 2016 and include 158 valves consisting of 20,000 tons of structural material. Officials say those water-saving basins are the largest in the world and facilitate a 60 percent reuse of water. Whereas the existing locks use 52 million gallons (197 million litres) with each use, the new locks use 48 million gallons (182 million litres).

Yes - these are not my pics (from the interwebz), but these show them rather well -

From the Atlantic side - looking at Gatun Lake:

Closeup showing the water-saving basins:

Schematics of the project:

Thank you Jon for the detailed schematics and diagrams , puts everything into prospective .very grateful as I am sure the rest of us are .

Cosco Glory in the first new lock from the Pacific, we were in the old lock alongside on the Norwegian Sun en route from Seattle to Port Canaveral Florida..


IMO: 9466245
MMSI: 477795300
Call Sign: VRIR7
Flag: Hong Kong [HK]
AIS Vessel Type: Cargo
Gross Tonnage: 141823
Deadweight: 140637 t
Length Overall x Breadth Extreme: 366m × 48.2m
Year Built: 2011

Read more at http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/det ... 8OAfgjz.99

Some ship Barry ........ pray for no radar mishaps cos' seeing over the steering wheel must be pretty neckbreaking