IT’S OVER NOW: The Panama Canal Has FINALLY Dried Up
an extreme drought in Panama is forcing
authorities to substantially scale back
shipping through the Panama Canal a
drought affecting Panama’s Gaton Lake
means less water is available to operate
the Panama Canal we have vessels waiting
outside for almost 3 weeks time is money
time is
money the Panama Canal is regarded as
one of the greatest engineering Marvels
over 30 years after its failed attempt
it opened in
1914 with its lock level system this
canal allows the passage of about 40 50
ships daily unlike other shipping canals
the Panama Canal is the only accessible
bridge between the Atlantic and the
Pacific Ocean however this astonishing
feat has finally dried up what could be
the cause of the possible end of the
canal as a primary route for shipping
Transit between America Europe and Asia
the dry up could have far-reaching
effects on the nation’s economies and
global trade can a solution be found for
this problem let’s find out the global
effort to get Goods to store shelves
this holiday season could be slowed by a
drought affecting the Panama Canal the
creation of the Panama
Canal the Panama creation one of
Humanity’s greatest inventions came into
being as a shorter route between the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans this
artificial Canal facilitates trade
between the east and west and has
significantly influenced global trade
the recent tragedy in this
infrastructure is of primary concern not
just to the canal users but also to
Consumers and economies at large as
crucial as the Panama Canal is to global
trade the Panama Canal is one of the
world’s most successful shortcuts about
270 billion do of trade each year it was
a significant concern at some point in
history keep watching as we explore the
mystery behind the sudden dry up of the
Panama Canal the idea of the Panama
Canal dates back to 1513 when ASCO Nunes
de Balboa first crossed the ismos of
Panama the narrow land bridge between
the North American Atlantic and the
South American Pacific Ocean is an
excellent place to create a water
passage the European colonists made this
realization but it was not until after
the completion of the Suez Canal in
1869 that the French government began to
Envision the creation of a similar
project the Panama Canal the French
government gained permission from the
Colombian government which had the
Panama area then the agreement between
the French government and the Colombian
government on March 27th 1878 was a
15-year concession given to the French
to build the Panama Canal after which
after 99 years without compensation it
would become the property of the
Colombian government however the French
government was unprepared for the
disaster unfolding while venturing on
this project it was only expected that
the brain behind the Suez Canal
Ferdinand deeps could carry out a
similar project in Panama and he was
therefore awarded the contract his
enthusiasm about the project and proven
track record encouraged speculators and
even ordinary citizens to invest nearly
$400
million a major setback was the
assumption that the environment of the
Suez Canal was just as similar to that
of the Panama Canal and this project
could be carried out with little
difficulty but that did not turn out to
be so shortening travel time between
Asia and Europe Europe in a bid to rival
the sewers Canal the project to link the
grand foul Port which is still under
construction Ferdinand de Lep’s plan for
the Panama Canal was a sea level Canal
to be dug along the path of the Panama
Railroad on February 1st 1881 this plan
began effect funded by over 100,000
small investors the French comp
universel du Canal interos started to
work on a canal that would cross the
Colombian ismus of Panama and unite the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans with about
50 Mi the Panama Canal was projected to
take about half the time as the Suz
Canal estimated at $132 million and 12
years of completion the Panama Canal was
considered a worthy investment as its
completion would save travel hours and
transportation costs and make its
investors rich on January 20th 1882 the
French began Di digging the Panama Canal
using modern equipment like dredges
steam shovels locomotives and tugboats a
large number of the workers were local
blacks and Indian laborers the process
was slow in the beginning months of the
digging but progress was steady then the
unforeseen struck the warnings of men of
Panama to Ferdinand began to come to
pass and the workers were faced with
torrential rain insects snakes swamps
hellish heat small poox malaria
yellow fever and the chagres river the
chagres river continually affected the
canal route a total of 14 times this the
world’s most expensive traffic jam ships
lined up for days outside the Panama
Canal while continuously ignoring the
warnings of those who deemed the project
impossible Ferdinand decided to Dam and
divert the river without knowing its
entire flow during the rainy season the
Chagas River was at full flow and became
an untameable monster that swept
anything standing in its way despite all
these the French were Relentless and dug
onward and times without number the rain
and Chagas River joined forces to
destroy the hard work of Labor and
Engineering the mudslides became burial
grounds for men machines and supplies
the freshwater pools everywhere were
breeding grounds for the deadly plague
of insects in 1881 the number of deaths
due to disease was 60 in 1882 2 the
number doubled in 1883 more than tripled
to 420 deaths the most common diseases
responsible for these deaths were
malaria and yellow fever it was only
after thousands had died that the cause
of their death was found year in and
year out the more they dug the more they
died it was almost as if they were
digging their graves in December 1888
the comp universel du Canal inter oan
accepted failure and announced
bankruptcy which led to thousands of
French investors losing their money
since then the word Panama has become
synonymous with fraud and scandal with
about $287 million spent 55 million
cubic meters of rock and Earth out of
place 11 M of canal dug and 20,000
deaths the canal became an unfinished
project but a dream much alive who then
would pick up the Baton and bring this
dream to reality
the answer was not far who will fulfill
the Panama Canal
dream not long after Theodore Roosevelt
became president of the United States of
America he brought up the Panama project
in a speech to Congress Roosevelt was
quick in his actions and in June 1902
the United States and the French agreed
to purchase the rights of the French
Canal property alongside the equipment
for a sum of not more than $40 million
known as The Spooner act the American
president was hungry for action but
Panama would not yield easily afterward
the United States began negotiations
with Columbia regarding a Panama treaty
these negotiations did not reach many
conclusions with Colombia the government
was hesitant and the United States took
another route by joining forces with the
panamanians with whom they shared
identical business interests to create a
revolution to free Panama from Colombia
the revolution between Colombia and
Panama backed by the United States
lasted a few hours and Panama became a
state on November 3rd
1903 the United States continued to move
swiftly and with a sum of $10 million in
addition to an annual annuity of
$250,000 it was able to secure the
rights and permission to build which is
called the heau verilla treaty the
Congress held in Paris was in favor of
Ferdinand Deep’s sea level plan which
tried and failed the United States then
decided to adopt the opposing plan put
forward in the Congress held at Paris in
the Great Hall of the geographical
Society of France by Adolf godan de lein
a French civil engineer who was familiar
with the terrain and the complexities
present in the Panama region Goden was a
hero to the American civil engineers
unfortunately he did not live to see his
plan become a reality but only saw the
predicted failure of ferdinand’s plan
the problem of managing the Chagas River
led to President Roosevelt’s adoption of
the lock type canal in 1906 which the
chief engineer John Frank Stevens
proposed included in President Roosevelt
in 1906 chief engineer John Frank
Stevens proposed what was then the
largest artificial lake in the world
gatun Lake and at the same time it
brought a considerable part of the
chagras river under control so massive
was the lake that it was able to
accommodate the greater part of the
river even at flood stage perhaps more
important the man-made lake formed more
than 20 mi 32 km of the canal row Ute
the United States was at an advantage in
the completion of the Panama Canal as
the failure of the French gave a lot of
helpful information on how diseases like
malaria and yellow fever worked and how
to solve these problems having full
knowledge of the primary cause of death
of the French workers the Americans were
able to understand how diseases like
malaria and yellow fever could be
controlled and in 1906 Panama was deemed
safe for work to continue despite this
diseases and accidents still brought
death to
5,609 American workers railroads and
heavy machinery were critical elements
most notable was the use of more than
100 steam shovels many of which were
used to dig the calbra cut later called
guyard cut after David Duo’s guyard the
American American engineer who
supervised its construction until he
died in
1913 this was the most challenging part
of the canal project the calbra cut due
to the unstable nature of the soil and
rock many lives were lost in the
landslides and dynamite accidents the
hurdles faced were great but on August
15th 1914 the Panama Canal was opened 30
years after the first attempt to build a
working Canal the Panama Canal Remains
the greatest engineering invention how
does the Panama Canal work the inter
Oceanic Waterway uses a system of locks
with two lanes that operate as water
elevators these elevators raise ships
from sea level to the level of Gaton
Lake 26 M above sea level to allow them
to cross through the Continental Divide
and then lower the ships to sea level on
the other side of the ismos the water
used to raise and lower the vessels in
each set of locks is obtained from gatun
Lake by gravity and poured into the
locks through a main CT system that
extends under the locks Chamber from the
sidewalls and the center wall the Panama
Canal serves as a maritime shortcut that
saves time and costs in transporting all
kinds of goods the 80 km Waterway
communicates the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans in one of the narrowest points of
the American continent since its opening
in 1914 more than 1 million ships from
all over the world have transited the
canal the historic millionth Mark was
reached on September 4th 2010 with the
transit of the bulk carrier Fortune plum
in September 2007 the Panama Canal
expansion program began operation this
program aims to double the Canal’s
capacity to satisfy the increasing
demand for Global Maritime trade this
expansion added a third lane to the
canal to enable the transit of bigger
vessels also doubling the capacity would
indirectly impact the economies and
encourage them to open new markets how
important is the pan P Canal to Global
Maritime trade since its completion in
1914 the Panama Canal has become
Paramount to global trade serving as a
bridge between the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans this has had an enormous impact
the canal is a passage for 14,000 ships
annually which holds 6% of global
Commerce and displays the Canal’s
significance by no small measure the 80
km Waterway controlled by the United
States from 1914 to 1999 handles 5 % of
global Maritime trade each year some
14,000 ships carrying more than 320
million tons of cargo as a result of
this High dependence on the canal a
minor disruption could drastically
affect the prices of goods and shipping
rates the Panama Canal has been
efficient in reducing Voyage Time by
several weeks which in turn translates
to reduced costs in the form of lower
fuel costs a reduction in carbon
emissions and more conservative shipping
rates another param ount importance of
the canal on global trade is the
increased trade between continents it
facilitates trade between Europe and
Asia the Panama Canal can have
far-reaching effects on the world’s
economies which depend majorly on it for
trade and generate money for the Panama
government the Panama government as of
2022 under normal operations generated a
revenue of $ 4.32 billion for the
government of Panama accounting for
about 65% of the total
GDP the status of Panama as one of Latin
America’s wealthiest and most developed
Nations is attributed to the Panama
Canal the deterioration of the canal
began in 2023 and has continued till
2024 this continuous situation could
lead to a sad fate for the people of
Panama the United States and global
trade at large why did the United States
decide to complete the Panama Canal not
long after Roosevelt assumed the
presidency of the United States of
America he had already begun talks about
completing the Panama Canal this might
seem Odd as one would expect the
president to start to find solutions to
the country’s pressing needs this odd
talk had its link to a bigger picture
that not many Americans could at that
time Envision the United States with its
goal of becoming a Pacific Power found
the Panama Canal helpful in achieving
this goal as an upcoming Global power
the Panama Canal gave her the bridge to
build relationships with other nations
and grow its Military and Commercial
potential the Panama Canal is tagged as
a geopolitical strategy to make the
United States the most powerful Nation
on Earth as we have it today the United
States is the most powerful Nation on
Earth the United States of
America is the most powerful Nation on
Earth indeed the Panama Canal helped
achieve this objective in terms of
military potential the owner ship of the
Panama Canal gave the United States
control of both oceans which is a
powerful tool in times of War at that
time air power was not non-existent
making the sea the only way to combat
enemies Marine power was equated to
world power allowing the United States
to move ships swiftly from the West to
the east also the economic impact was
massive now you could unite the trade
between the two oceans starting in the
1890s and until W do one global trade
was just as significant as it is now so
it was essential to have a commute route
across the continent this is why Wall
Street was very supportive and helped
fund it the US wanted to frame a vision
of itself as more selfless more a help
to the world more advancing civilization
of course there’s the other side to that
often the US was despite its self-image
imposing its power in Panama it asserted
its power over the Republic and
dominated the County’s history for 100
years but nonetheless the canal has
remained Central to American national
identity in part because it seemed to
exemplify that beneficent self-image it
was an incredible project the largest
public construction project in US
history the engineering technical
medical and scientific challenges were
incredible first having to get disease
under control and then figure out
whether it should be a sea level or a
lock Canal it was 40 m long and
literally cut through the Contin
Continental Divide so it was extremely
difficult how important is the Panama
Canal to the United States the US is the
largest user of the Panama Canal with
total us commodity export and import
containers representing about 73% of
Panama Canal traffic 40% of all us
container traffic travels through the
Panama Canal annually and $270 billion
in cargo annually a severe drought has
led to water depth weight restrictions
on ships passing through the canal and
additional container sech charges
imposed by ocean carriers on shippers
the Panama Canal is one of the fastest
and least expensive ways to move grain
and other agricultural Commodities which
leave the port of New Orleans for China
the US is the largest country to move
energy Commodities including natural gas
through the Panama Canal the US retains
the crown of the world’s largest oil
producer oil production in the US is
back at record setting levels a little
over 1 qu 26% of canal Transit involves
LPG carriers and ocean ships
transporting liquefied petroleum gas
liquefied natural gas compressed natural
gas and liquefied chemical gases in bulk
the latest requirements will not impact
LG vessels still Canal congestion caused
by the lower water levels and the
increase in small vessels using the
canal has led LNG allies the US industry
trade group to publicly comment that it
is concerned about future congestion and
Rising costs and the need for alternate
trade routes that would add time to
voyages is there a water crisis on the
Panama Canal the functioning of the
canal is dependent on water and in the
absence of little or no water it cannot
perform its functions at the start of
2024 unusual weather patterns were
observed disruptions in the canal as we
have it now have led to delays in
waiting to pass through the Canal this
has led to increased operating costs and
shipping rates due to high demand for
alternative routs this disruption has
also increased the prices of goods and
the delayed Transit of LNG carriers has
caused a significant Water Crisis in the
Panama Canal a significant cause of the
Water Crisis is the fall in the water
levels in the Panama Canal which is
attributed to the drought and the El
Nino climate pattern the drought is said
to occur due to the low rainfall in the
Amazon Rain Forest some experts have
linked this fall in rainfall to the high
rate of deforestation in the Amazon
rainforest with the forest having a
significant influence on climate
conditions in many parts of the world
deforestation has reduced the number of
trees to the extent that carbon dioxide
is more common in the rainforest than
oxygen If the fall in water levels
continues the Panama Canal could dry up
dropping water levels in gatun Lake
forced Panama Canal authorities to
restrict the number of Shipping Lines
from the standard 38 down to 24 transits
a day by November 2023 causing long cues
at nearby ports as shipping vessels wait
for their turn to pass what is the El
Nino climate pattern elino is a natural
climate fluctuation that brings warmer
than average air and ocean waters to the
West Coast of America the strength of
the warm air varies and usually lasts
between 9 and 12 months due to the
change ing climate conditions the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration predicted it would last
at least until April 2024 which is how
we have it now the severity and more
extended period of the El Nino has a
link with climate change climate changes
have affected El Nino and the lenia
pattern in recent decades this year’s
strong El Nino has led to one of the
driest years on record in Panama forcing
the Panama Canal authority to limit the
waterways capacity through Transit and
draft restrictions to conserve water the
future of canal operations hinges on
arrival of the rainy season in May if
rain comes as expected the Panama Canal
Authority hopes to return to the normal
rate of 36 transits per day if not
further reductions in Daily transits or
maximum drafts might be required what is
the solution to the Panama Canal Water
Crisis with the Panama Canal water
levels continuously decreasing daily all
hands are on Deck to find a fast and
reliable solution to the problem some
have suggested that seawater be pumped
into the Canal’s primary water source
Gaton Lake this idea has been turned
down because Gaton lake is Panama’s
primary drinking water source another
proposed plan is rerouting water to feed
the canal this idea might solve the
problem of water scarcity it poses a
great danger to the environment and
could harm the natural
ecosystem reducing deforestation in
general and in particular in the Amazon
rainforest
is one of the solutions to the Panama
Canal problem the governing board of the
canal has suggested creating a reservoir
to improve the water supply flow and
traffic on the canal the proposed
Reservoir will accommodate 12 to 15
ships per time this Reservoir plan also
comes with difficulties the cost is
estimated to be about $900 million with
Panama committing to this project the
time frame is unsure as the last
expansion of the Panama Canal locks was
2 years ago the plan poses environmental
concerns and could lead to people losing
their homes as much as this Reservoir
seems like a sure remedy to the
situation of the Panama Canal the costs
must be weighed side by side with the
benefits the price includes the money
spent and its effect on the environment
the lives of humans and water habitats
and the economic conditions other routes
are considered and the Arctic route
deemed impassible because of the thick
ice is becoming accessible as global
warming has brought about the melting
the Arctic route the sea route is a
shorter route between Europe and Asia
reducing the voyage distance compared to
the Suez Canal or Panama Canal route but
how feasible is this route as much as
the ice has begun melting and Away has
become visible the challenges of the
route and navigation are things to
consider as the environmental conditions
the Nicaragua Canal which has been
debated for centuries has found light in
the dark times of the Panama Canal the
canal serves as a link between the
Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans and is
considered a competition to the Panama
Canal the project serves High
construction costs environmental impacts
and geopolitical concerns the Nicaragua
project has raised discussions on
National and international platforms
with indigenous and environmentalists
expressing how this project could impact
the environment and lives the Suez Canal
is another alternative but it has its
challenges with the independence of
fresh water despite its expansion in
2015 it still faces congestion problems
in accommodating large Shipping Lines
the canal has also experienced closure
in the past due to
conflicts another option is to build
desalination plants the lack of rain has
increased the salinity of the lakes and
rivers a challenge that has to be
managed given it’s the country’s most
significant source of poal water but
that option is costly and removing salt
from seawater requires a huge amount of
energy the future of the Panama Canal is
unclear and a total dry up is highly
possible remember to like and leave a
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IT’S OVER NOW: The Panama Canal Has FINALLY Dried Up
The Panama Canal is regarded as one of the greatest engineering marvels; over 30 years after its failed attempt, it opened in 1914. With its lock-level system, this canal allows the passage of about 40-50 ships daily. Unlike other shipping canals, the Panama Canal is the only accessible bridge between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. However, this astonishing feat has finally dried up. What could be the cause of the possible end of the canal? As a primary route for shipping transit between America, Europe, and Asia, the dry-up could have far-reaching effects on the nations’ economies and global trade. Can a solution be found for this problem? Let’s find out
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5 Comments
is it clear!!!!!😅 pump up, flow down😫,… WRONG!!!,” DRAIN”!!
Hmm, wonder if the constant chem-trails in the skies could have caused the drought?
-the evil entities-they called The beloved for old these Greek gods do not like the law this is all created to recreate their book to bring about their Messiah
Low water levels. Definitely not dried up.
As expected, the rainy season has started, and Gatun lake is rising. Nothing to see here.