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Some might consider this photo, recently released by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP, by its Spanish initials) as a subtle suggestion that Panama really does need to modernize the canal by building a larger new third set of locks. However, most seasoned observers of the authority's campaign for the mega-project, whether or not they tend to favor the idea, wouldn't consider the suggestion all that subtle.

The photo came with a press release about "another feat that signifies the Panama Canal's increased efficiency and reliability," the August 26 passage of five "extreme-sized" panamax container ships through the Gatun Locks in one direction (southbound, in this case) in one day. The waterway had never before seen such heavy traffic from the big ships, the name of whose class derives from the fact that they are of the maximum size that will fit through the canal.

So what's the difference between a garden variety panamax container ship and an "extreme-sized" one? It's length. These ships are more than 900 feet long. Shorter vessels that are of the maximum width to pass through the locks are also called "panamax." The extreme-length ships require an extra pair of locomotive "mules" to pull them through the locks.

Canal affairs figured in the recent change of government in several ways. First, President Torrijos not only dispensed with Mireya's Canal Affairs Minister Jerry Salazar, but eliminated his job and the ministry itself. Second, the new president met with residents of the Western Watershed, who would be flooded out of their homes under some possible canal expansion plans, and assured them that he would not support any project that comes at their expense, and in his inaugural address promised a transparent dialogue and a democratic vote on any canal modernization project. On hand for one of his rare state visits was Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian, who reiterated his country's willingness to provide the financial support Panama would need to modernize the canal in a way that permits post-panamax vessels to fit through it.

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Panama Information - Online guide to information about Panama - www.panama-information.executivehotel-panama.com
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