The eagerly anticipated $5.25 billion expansion project is expected to double the canal’s capacity, cut global maritime costs by an estimated $8 billion annually according to the International Monetary Fund and once again transform global shipping.
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“I think the inauguration of the locks is excellent for the current generations and those to come”, said Moises Gonzalez, a 40-year-old mechanic who worked on the construction of the locks for six years.
“We are thrilled that we now have 170 reservations for Neopanamax ships, commitments of two new liner services to the Expanded Canal, and a reservation for the first LNG vessel, which will transit in late July”, Mr. Quijano added. “This is the route which unites the world”.
The impending arrival of new Panamax ships with a required draft of 50 feet has sent East Coast ports and businesses in the USA scrambling to benefit from this increased cargo. “The wider canal does not generate demand, all it does is facilitate the movement of cargo a little bit more easily”. Net cargo volume through the canal from the US East Coast toward Asia fell 10.2 percent in 2015, according to official statistics. The canal opens the route. Its passage was to show off the third shipping lane and gargantuan locks built into the canal catering to vessels of its class, known as Neopanamax, or New Panamax, ships.
World shipping got a new face and it was considered an engineering marvel of that time. It was built by the U.S. and handed over to local control in 1999. “We thank our customers for their support and appreciate the 170 reservations we have received thus far to transit the Expanded Canal”.
“Seven years ago we began a long journey that represented the dream as well as the challenge that every entrepreneur and every person would want to have at least once in their lifetime: building a project that will change global trade”, said Pietro Salini, CEO of Salini Impregilo.
With the expansion, larger ships are able to traverse the canal, carrying almost three times the cargo of previous maximum-capacity vessels.
The opening, originally scheduled for 2014, to coincide with the centennial anniversary of the existing canal’s inauguration, comes at one of the most hard financial times for the shipping industry. Set to potentially double its current cargo, the expansion has weathered cost disputes, serious questions regarding its design and a global slump in worldwide shipping.
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Neo-Panamax ship operators have also voiced concerns, stating that the new locks only leave room for a very small margin of error and are beset by sharp turns and sheer rock walls.
