(With video and infographics) The Panama Canal expansion project, also called the Third Set of Locks Project, will double the capacity of the Panama Canal by increasing the number of ships by adding a new lane of traffic, and increasing the size of ships by increasing the maximum allowed width and height.
The new larger size of ships, called New Panamax, is about one and a half times the current Panamax size and can carry over twice as much cargo. The third set of locks are opened and closed by huge lock doors the size of buildings.
Lock Doors
The lock doors were designed by Dutch engineering company Iv-Group and are between 22.5 and 33 metres high, are over 57 metres wide and 10 metres thick. The doors can resist enormous water pressure, are sturdy enough to resist ship collisions and earth quakes, they can open or close within five minutes, lose only limited amounts of fresh water and are available 99.6 per cent of the time.
Infographics
The design of these steel giants is thus quite a feat and is discussed at length in SWZ Maritime's hydraulic engineering special. This article is accompanied by two infographics, one on the Panama Canal Expansion Project and one on the lock doors (by the Panama Canal Authority). Both can be downloaded here:
Below a video on the Panama Canal Expansion.
