MILESTONES: 1899–1913Building the Panama Canal, 1903–1914

President Theodore Roosevelt oversaw the realization of a long-term United States goal a transisthmian canal. Throughout the 1800s, American and British leaders and businessmen wanted to ship goods quickly and cheaply between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

To that end, in 1850 the United States and Great Britain negotiated the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty to reign in rivalry over a proposed canal through the Central American Republic of Nicaragua. The Anglo-American canal, however, never went beyond the planning stages. French attempts to build a canal through Panama (province of Colombia) advanced further. Led by Ferdinand de Lesseps—the builder of the Suez Canal in Egypt—the French began excavating in 1880. Malaria, yellow fever, and other tropical diseases conspired against the de Lesseps campaign and after 9 years and a loss of approximately 20,000 lives, the French attempt went bankrupt. In spite of such setbacks, American interest in a canal continued unabated. The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty of 1901 abrogated the earlier Clayton-Bulwer Treaty and licensed the United States to build and manage its own canal. Following heated debate over the location of the proposed canal, on June 19, 1902, the U.S. Senate voted in favor of building the canal through Panama. Within 6 months, Secretary of State JOHN HAY signed a treaty with Colombian Foreign Minister Tomás Herrán to build the new canal. The financial terms were unacceptable to Colombia’s congress, and it rejected the offer.

President Roosevelt responded by dispatching U.S. warships to Panama City (on the Pacific) and Colón (on the Atlantic) in support of Panamanian independence. Colombian troops were unable to negotiate the jungles of the Darien Strait and Panama declared independence on November 3, 1903. The newly declared Republic of Panama immediately named Philippe Bunau-Varilla (a French engineer who had been involved in the earlier de Lesseps canal attempt) as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. In his new role, Bunau-Varilla negotiated the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903, which provided the United States with a 10-mile wide strip of land for the canal, a one-time $10 million payment to Panama, and an annual annuity of $250,000. The United States also agreed to guarantee the independence of Panama. Completed in 1914, the Panama Canal symbolized U.S. technological prowess and economic power. Although U.S. control of the canal eventually became an irritant to U.S.-Panamanian relations, at the time it was heralded as a major foreign policy achievement.

Operation of the Panama CanalThe canal makes the trip from the east coast to the west coast of the U.S. much shorter than the route taken around the tip of South America prior to 1914. Though traffic continues to increase through the canal, many oil supertankers and military battleships and aircraft carriers cannot fit through the canal. There's even a class of ships known as "Panamax," those built to the maximum capacity of the Panama Canal and its locks.It takes approximately fifteen hours to traverse the canal through its three sets of locks (about half the time is spent waiting due to traffic). Ships passing through the canal from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean actually move from the northwest to the southeast, due to the east-west orientation of the Isthmus of Panama.

Panama Canal location The Panama Canal is a 48-mile (77 km) ship canal in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean (via the Caribbean Sea) to the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. There are locks at each end to lift ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial lake created to reduce the amount of excavation work required for the canal, 26 metres (85 ft) above sea level. The current locks are 33.5 metres (110 ft) wide. A third, wider lane of locks is currently under construction and is due to open in 2016.

Ownership During construction, ownership of the territory that is now the Panama Canal was first Colombian, then French, and then American. The US continued to control the canal and surrounding Panama Canal Zone until the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties provided for handover to Panama.

The men behind the Suez Canal and Eiffel Tower were convicted in connection with failed effort to build a canal.

In the ensuing centuries, various nations considered developing a Panamanian canal but a serious attempt wasn’t made until the 1880s. In 1881, a French company headed by Ferdinand de Lesseps, a former diplomat who developed Egypt’s Suez Canal, began digging a canal across Panama. The project was plagued by poor planning, engineering problems and tropical diseases that killed thousands of workers. De Lesseps intended to build the canal at sea level, without locks, like the Suez Canal, but the excavation process proved far more difficult than anticipated. Gustave Eiffel, who designed the famous tower in Paris that bears his name, was then hired to create locks for the canal; however, the De Lesseps-led company went bankrupt in 1889. At the time, the French had sunk more than $260 million into the canal venture and excavated more than 70 million cubic yards of earth.

The canal venture’s collapse caused a major scandal in France. De Lesseps and his son Charles, along with Eiffel and several other company executives, were indicted on fraud and mismanagement charges. In 1893, the men were found guilty, sentenced to prison and fined, although the sentences were overturned. After the scandal, Eiffel retired from business and devoted himself to scientific research; Ferdinand de Lesseps died in 1994. That same year, a new French company was formed to take over the assets of the bankrupt business and continue the canal; however, this second firm soon abandoned the endeavor as well.

Panama Canal design

There are twelve locks in total. A two-step flight at Miraflores, and a single flight at Pedro Miguel, lift ships from the Pacific up to Gatun Lake; then a triple flight at Gatun lowers them to the Atlantic side. All three sets of locks are paired; that is, there are two parallel flights of locks at each of the three lock sites. This, in principle, allows ships to pass in opposite directions simultaneously; however, large

ships cannot cross safely at speed in the Culebra Cut, so in practice ships pass in one direction for a time, then in the other, using both "lanes" of the locks in one direction at a time.

The lock chambers are 110 ft (33.53 m) wide by 1,050 ft (320 m) long, with a usable length of 1,000 ft. (305 m). These dimensions determine the maximum size of ships that can use the canal; this size is known as Panamax. The total lift (the amount by which a ship is raised or lowered) in the three steps of the Gatun locks is 85 ft (25.9 m); the lift of the two-step Miraflores locks is 54 ft. (16 m). The single-step Pedro Miguel locks have a lift of 31 ft (9.4 m). The lift at Miraflores actually varies due to the extreme tides on the Pacific side, between 43 ft (13 m) at extreme high tide and 64.5 ft. (20 m) at extreme low tide; tidal differences on the Atlantic side are very small.

The lock chambers are massive concrete structures. The side walls are from 45 to 55 ft. (14 to 17 m) thick at the bases; toward the top, where less strength is required, they taper down in steps to 8 ft (2.4 m). The center wall between the chambers is 60 ft (18 m) thick and houses three galleries that run its full length. The lowest of these is a drainage tunnel; above this is a gallery for electrical cabling; and toward the top is a passageway that allows operators to gain access to the lock machinery.

The gates.

The gates separating the chambers in each flight of locks must hold back a considerable weight of water, and must be both reliable and strong enough to withstand accidents, as the failure of a gate could unleash a catastrophic flood of water downstream.

These gates are of enormous size, ranging from 47 to 82 ft (14.33 to 24.99 m) high, depending on position, and are 7 ft (2.13 m) thick. The tallest gates are at Miraflores, due to the large tidal range there. The heaviest leaves weigh 662 t (730 short tons; 652 long tons); the hinges themselves each weigh 16.7 t (36,817 lb). Each gate has two leaves, 65 ft (19.81 m) wide, which close to a "V" shape with the point upstream. This arrangement has the effect that the force of water from the higher side pushes the ends of the gates together firmly. The gates can be opened only when, in the operating cycle, the water level on both sides is equal.

The original gate machinery consisted of a huge drive wheel, powered by an electric motor, to which was attached a connecting rod, which in turn attached to the middle of the gate. These mechanisms were replaced with hydraulic struts beginning in January 1998, after 84 years of service. The gates are hollow and buoyant, much like the hull of a ship, and are so well balanced that two 19 kW (25 hp) motors are enough to move each gate leaf. If one motor fails, the other can still operate the gate at reduced speed.

Each chamber also contains a pair of auxiliary gates, which can be used to divide the chamber in two. This design allows for the transit of smaller vessels, such as canal tugs, without using the full quantity of water. The auxiliary gates were originally incorporated because the overwhelming majority of all ships of the early 1900s were less than 600 ft (183 m) long and therefore did not need the full length of the lock chamber. Nowadays these gates are rarely used; instead, small boats such as tour boats, tugs, and yachts are passed in groups.

The expansion projectThe Panama Canal expansion project, also called the Third Set of Locks Project, is intended to double the capacity of the Panama Canal by 2016 by creating a new lane of traffic and allowing more and larger ships, the New Panamax size, which are about one and a half times the current maximum width and length (known as Panamax) and can carry over twice as much cargo.

The project is planned to:

Build two new sets of locks, one each on the Atlantic and Pacific sides, and excavate new channels to the new locks. Each set of locks will have three chambers with water-saving basins.

Widen and deepen existing channels. Raise the maximum operating level of Gatun Lake

Then-Panamanian President Martín Torrijos formally proposed the project on 24 April 2006, saying it would transform Panama into a First World country.A national referendum approved the proposal by a 76.8 percent majority on 22 October, and the Cabinet and National Assembly followed suit. The project formally began in 2007. It was initially announced that the Canal expansion would be completed by August 2014 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Panama Canal but various setbacks, including strikes and disputes with the construction consortium over cost overruns, pushed the completion date first to June 2015 then December 2015. On 14 April 2015, Canal Project Minister Roberto Roy announced that the Canal expansion would be operational by 1 April 2016.

The project is expected to create demand for ports to handle New Panamax ships. Several U.S. Eastern Seaboard ports will be ready for these larger ships, and others are considering renovations, including dredging, blasting, and bridge rising. In the UK, the Port of Southampton can handle post-Panamax vessels and is expanding to accommodate more, while the Port of Liverpool will be capable by 2015 and others are considering such expansion.

Port of BalboaThe Port of Balboa is the terminal port for the Pacific Ocean end of the Panama Canal. The Port of Balboa is just ten kilometers southwest and a district of Panama City, Panama’s capital, and five kilometers west-southwest of the Port of Panama. The Port of Balboa was named for Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the first European known to have seen the Pacific Ocean from the Americas. In 2000, about 2300 people lived in the Port of Balboa.

The town was founded by the United States while they built the Panama Canal. Before being drained and filled, the area was occupied by marshlands and a few small ranches. Today, it contains vast harbor installations, warehouses, dry docks, marine and rail repair shops, and a coaling plant. Its sister port, the Port of Cristobal, lies on the eastern end of the Canal.

Port HistoryBalboa was formerly located at La Boca French Port on Panama’s Pacific coast. The United States refurbished the port when they started building the Panama Canal, naming it Ancon.

Since the Port of Balboa was inaugurated in 1909, it has served a vital role in worldwide maritime trade, as it was the only port between Santa Cruz, Mexico, and El Callao, Peru, that could handle the era’s biggest vessels of three thousand tons.

From the early 20th Century until 1979 and the abolishing of the United States’ “Canal Zone,” the Port of Balboa was the zone’s administrative center and a territory of the United States. Today, the Canal’s former administrative building houses the Panama Canal Administration. In 1915, a US Navy VLF-transmission station sent orders to US submarines from the Port of Balboa.

As a US territory, the Port of Balboa contained American schools, post office, a commissary, a cafeteria, a service center, fire and police stations, and a yacht club and other recreational facilities run by the US government.

Since it became part of the Republic of Panama, the Port of Balboa has been redeveloped, and its port has been enhanced. The houses and commercial areas are now privately-owned. Most of the former public institutions, like the schools, have been closed. The Port of Balboa is now part of Panama City’s suburb of Ancon and what Panamanians call the “areas revertidas.”

Balboa is the Pacific-side port of the Panama Canal. The port has a dry dock in Panamax  the gates have a construction similar to that of the locks of the Panama canal.

Balboa port operation management responsible The Panama Ports Company (PPC) has been the responsible for managing the ports at either end of the Panama Canal, the Port of Balboa and the Port of Cristobal. The company operates by concession granted by the government of Panama in 1997. A subsidiary of the Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) Group, the PPC is transforming both the ports into "mega-ports" to increase capacity to 6.5 million TEUs per year. The PPC's objective is to facilitate global commerce and economy growth by developing and modernizing the ports' infrastructures and services.

Since it was opened in late 2000, the Port of Balboa container terminal has been recognized as one of Panama's most important terminals. Within its first six months of operations, the Port of Balboa container terminal had handled 380 thousand TEUs, its

maximum capacity. Expansion projects modernized the port, and a renewed, larger-capacity facility began operating in

. Thus the third expansion phase started and initiated in 2005. This markedly, increased the capacity and handling of the cargo in the port (Panama Ports Company).Table 3 represents current facilities of Balboa port after expansion phases. These expansions have cost around 1 billion dollars for this company until now. In addition, according to one of managers of Balboa port, the largest cranes in the world are located in this port.

Table 3: Current facilities of Balboa port

Balboa is known as the second largest port terminal in Panama. Balboa is configured with the main portion of working cargo piers on the Eastern side of the canal. The port can accommodate all types of cargo. Directly across the canal are the piers belonging to the old Rodman Naval Base. These are now simply identified as the Rodman Piers by the Panama Canal Authority and accommodate bunkering and stores operations, as well as serving as berths for visiting military vessels. The piers offer safe navigation of naval vessels. Pier 1 is used by oil and gas tankers, Pier 2 are used by U.S. Naval and Coast Guard vessels and Pier 3 is used by the Panama Coast Guard. The Port of Balboa has invested over US$500 million on its facilities. A 2.44 kilometers quay with a depth alongside of 16 meters, 10 post-Panamax quay cranes and eight Panamax quay cranes allow the port to handle up to one post-Panamax ship, two Panamax vessels, and one feeder container vessel simultaneously. The port also has 48 rubber-tyred gantry cranes, six reach stackers, and 28 empty container handlers. The Port of Balboa and its sister port at Cristobal are operated by Panama Ports Company offers a one-stop shop with world-class efficiency and comprehensive services that ensure the ports maintain top reputations with shipping lines (HPH, Panama Ports Company).

PORT COMMERCE

 Panama Ports Company (PPC) has been the responsible for managing the ports at either end of the Panama Canal, the Port of Balboa and the Port of Cristobal. The company operates by concession granted by the government of Panama in 1997. A subsidiary of

the Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) Group, the PPC is transforming both the ports into "mega-ports" to increase capacity to 6.5 million TEUs per year. The PPC's objective is to facilitate global commerce and economy growth by developing and modernizing the ports' infrastructures and services.

Since it was opened in late 2000, the Port of Balboa container terminal has been recognized as one of Panama's most important terminals. Within its first six months of operations, the Port of Balboa container terminal had handled 380 thousand TEUs, its maximum capacity. Expansion projects modernized the port, and a renewed, larger-capacity facility began operating in early 2005.

The Port of Balboa covers 182 hectares and contains five berths for containers and two multi-purpose berths. In total, the berths are over 2.3 thousand meters long (7.4 thousand feet) with alongside depth of 17 meters (55.8 feet). The Port of Balboa has four super post-Panamax, ten post-Panamax, and eight Panamax quay cranes. The Port of Balboa is also equipped with 51 rubber-tyred gantry cranes, i reachstackers, 19 empty container handlers, and 21 forklifts. The Port of Balboa also contains 2.1 thousand square meters (22.6 thousand square feet) of warehouse space.

The Port of Balboa is strategically positioned to be a major player in world commerce and transportation. The world's biggest shipping lines call on the port regularly, and the Port of Balboa handles a third of all cargo moving through Panama's ports. In 2007, the Port of Balboa had total capacity to handle 2.5 million TEUs of containerized cargo. In 2007, it received the Maersk Seletar, the first post-Panamax vessel with capacity for 6500 TEUs. Also in 2007, it started weekly service to post-Panamax ships operating between Asia and the west coast of Latin America. The Port of Balboa is also a cargo hub for South America and the Caribbean.

The Port of Balboa, operated by Hutchinson Port Holdings (HPH) is an important transshipment hub on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal. It handled 2.75 million TEUs in 2010, but the port is close to capacity and with limited options for expansion. The ship in the middle (blue color) is operated by Maersk line and is of post-panamax design, implying that it cannot enter the Panama Canal (which begins on the left side of the photo). The transshipped containers can either be placed on another ship or on the Panama Canal Railway which has an intermodal terminal immediately adjacent to the port. Through this rail connection, a container can be brought to the port of Colon on the Atlantic side of the canal. In 2015, a new container port expansion project was approved at Corozal, just upstream of the port of Balboa, on 120 hectares of land that used to belong to the US Army, and which has been administered by the Panama Canal Authority since the hand over of the canal zone to the Panamanian government in 1999. The expansion is expected to add about 5.2 million TEUs of capacity in two phases.

1. Geographical Location

a. Ocean Ports

Much more easy to enter

Can be reached in short time

Time to berth is short

BALBOA port Container Liner Service

Ports of Call

Carrier Count Map

APL 150 view

Hapag-Lloyd 153 view

Libra 189 view

Maersk Line 188 view

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) 264 view

MOL 153 view

NYK 129 view

Zim 144 view

Balboa has a multimodal (ship-to-train) terminal, called the Pacific Terminal, connected to Colón by the Panama Canal Railway. This allows transportation of containers by train across the isthmus. The railway also runs a passenger service between Panama City and Colón, once a day, each way.

Climate[edit]

[hide]Climate data for Balboa

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Average high °C (°F)31

(87)32

(89)32

(89)32

(89)31

(87)30

(86)30

(86)31

(87)30

(86)30

(86)30

(86)30

(86)30.8(87)

Average low °C (°F)22

(71)22

(71)23

(73)23

(73)24

(75)23

(73)23

(73)23

(73)23

(73)23

(73)23

(73)23

(73)22.9

(72.8)

Average precipitation mm (inches)33

(1.3)18

(0.7)13

(0.5)74

(2.9)201(7.9)

200(8)

180(7)

198(7.8)

198(7.8)

262(10.3)

250(10)

137(5.4)

1,764(69.6)

Source: Weatherbase [2]

ChallengeThe Port of Balboa was projected to grow and needed to be transformed into a major hub serving Pacific trade routes. In turn, the PPC decided to undertake an ambitious expansion program.

SolutionLouis Berger and BergerABAM were engaged to help the PPC craft an innovative design-build program to accelerate terminal development. The project included a new 450-meter-long berthing wharf and 35-hectare container yard.

The development also included:

Dredging to bedrock and filling the 15-hectare areas behind Piers 16 and 17 with reclaimed materials and installing a 20-meter-high rock retaining dyke.

Excavating new channels for the Maria Salas and Curundu rivers and removing eight sunken vessels.

Creating a civil works package to pave and develop the filled area and install utilities.

Designing and supervising the construction of new infrastructure to convert all diesel eRTGs to electric, generating significant savings for the port.

Upon completion, the PPC more than doubled its throughput capacity. The port can now accommodate multiple post-Panamax ships at the dock and has 1,700 meters of quay, 22 super post-Panamax cranes, 57 rubber tyred gantry cranes and a container capacity of over 4 million twenty-foot equivalent units annually.

UNCTAD

UNCTAD assists developing countries in their efforts to integrate into the world economy on an

equitable basis. In the area of trade, the focus has turned towards the reduction of non-tariff

barriers and trade facilitation measures. This is because barriers, such as long waiting times at

borders, inappropriate fees and cumbersome administrative procedures, constitute obstacles

for trade that are as serious as tariff barriers. Consequently, UNCTAD is committed to assisting

developing countries as they carry out these complex, behind-border measures, which include

broad institutional and regulatory reforms as well as specific actions aimed at improving port

efficiency, for example. Port efficiency is important for trade facilitation because ports are the

main entry and exit points for international trade. In volume terms, nearly 80 % of world

merchandise transits by sea. For many developing countries, this figure surpasses 90% . Port

efficiency therefore has a direct impact on the ability of a country to participate in international

trade. It follows that ports serving developing countries must operate efficiently for them to

integrate into the world economy effectively. UNCTAD assists ports in developing countries by

conducting research, carrying out technical assistance activities and providing training and

capacity-building. The TrainForTrade Port Training Program strengthens talent management and

human resources development in ports in developing countries by setting up a sustainable

capacity-building framework for training future managers. It also creates port networks, bringing

together port experts from public and private entities from around the globe to share

knowledge and expertise, and to capitalize on research conducted through the program with

regard to port management and port performance indicators. A key component of the program

is the dissertation process. Participants work with senior managers in their ports to conduct

research on a specific problem faced by the port and propose feasible solutions. The dissertation

process requires that the participants put into practice what they have learned and allows them

to immediately contribute to improving operations in their ports. Upon completion, the

participants defend their dissertations before panels composed of senior managers from their

respective ports, as well as senior managers from other ports that are members of the program

and representatives of UNCTAD.

Newspaper interview in balboa port

Question 1: In what ways, if at all, does your port anticipate being impacted by the expansion of the Panama Canal?

Port of Balboa: Panama Canal expansion could have negative impact on our ports but we are preparing the ports to deal with the challenges. For example, currently, the large ships that cannot pass the Panama Canal unload their containers in Balboa port and then we pass it to the Cristobal and then another ship loads them. Panama Canal expansion decreases this type of service. Furthermore, some ships due to their extra weight (the sizes fit Canal), unload some of their containers in Balboa and after passing the canal we deliver them in Cristobal port. Panama Canal expansion probably will decrease this type of service. On the other hand, since increase in cargo traffic and number of vessels, and the fact that Panama is looking to be the main transshipment hub in Latin America, we are investing on our port facilities (Cranes, field, ) to use the opportunities and make up the loses.

Question 2: What role do you anticipate your port will play after this expansion project is completed?

Port of Balboa: We look forward to keep our position as a number one port in Latin America. Also, with investment on facilities and buying new cranes (largest cranes in the world), we expect to do the process faster. Therefore we will have an increase in capacity

Question 3: Has your port initiated efforts to accommodate the expected increase in cargo traffic and number of vessels on account of the Panama Canal’s expansion? If so, would you please provide details on this expansion effort, including information such as new container facilities and equipment, deepening efforts, channel maintenance efforts and any other relevant features?

Port of Balboa: From 1998 the port is expanding. In 1996, the port handled 44000 TEU. In 1998, Phase1, $120 Million was spent. In 2000, port reached its maximum capacity

due to new facilities. In 2001, 358000 TEU were handled. In 2005, company invested 500 million dollars.

2006 was a milestone for company. In 2007, phase 4 started with 403 million dollars investment to develop land field. In 2008, capacity became doubled. In 2010, the biggest cranes in the world were installed in Balboa.

Question 4: If your port has initiated expansion efforts, what is the expected cost of this project? How will your port raise the funds necessary for the expansion? Please specify the breakdown of federal, state, local and private funds.

Port of Balboa: The Balboa has spent around 1billion dollars for expansion. The Panama Port Company has connection with several banks in the world to prepare required financial sources. Since Balboa port is a private company, we do not expect any help from government.

Question 5: Has the legislature in your state initiated any legislation to propel this expansion process forward and, if so, would you please list the specifics related to the legislation?

Port of Balboa: No, this is a private company and we do not expect any help. (90% of company belongs to people and 10% belongs to government. Therefore Panama Port company is categorized as a private company)

Question 6: What preparations has your port initiated in terms of multimodal (rail, truck) transportation solutions?

Port of Balboa: Rail in Panama is a governmental sector. It is one way rail road which is used to connect the Port of Balboa to Port of Cristobal.

Question 7: Has the ongoing global economic recession and the steep drop in world cargo traffic resulted in a change in your plans regarding preparing for the Panama Canal expansion?

Port of Balboa: 2009 was year of recession in the world. This company missed 7% of cargos. However, in 2010, we received our largest cranes in the world. Therefore we can say no.

Question 8: What would you identify as the major obstacles or challenges to your port’s expansion efforts?

Port of Balboa: Major obstacles are not financial but are structural. For instance, there is an airport here that due to safety issues the containers cannot be too high. Also, Neighbors complain due to noise and pollution of construction site. Also there are two rivers that plans must be adjusted based on them.

Question 9: Has your port entered into an agreement or memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Panama Canal Authority and, if so, what would you categorize as the main elements of this agreement?

Port of Balboa: We have integration with them. But there is not any written agreement between us. They are government and we are a private company.

Question 10: Are there any other details or related information you would like to emphasize in light of the expansion of the Panama Canal?

Port of Balboa: Certainly, the advantages of Panama Canal Expansion are more than disadvantages for us.