Tight fit at the Panama Canal

[Harpy Eagle]

All I can say is....damn...

 

[Maxdeath]

Been through the canal a few times. A large number of today’s ships just barely fit and a growing number are too large to fit. That is why they are building a second canal near to the old one.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Been through the canal a few times. A large number of today’s ships just barely fit and a growing number are too large to fit. That is why they are building a second canal near to the old one.

They are not building a 2nd canal.

They did do a major expansion, but that was completed in 2016

 

[Grumblenuts]

Harpy vs. Maxdeath in the fact battle of the century!
Only on USMB. Stay tuned..

 

[Maxdeath]

They are not building a 2nd canal.

They did do a major expansion, but that was completed in 2016

A New Canal Through Central America Could Have Devastating Consequences

The ramifications of the proposed route have environmentalists worried, and for good reason

www.smithsonianmag.com

Try reading this. Can not say it is very flattering of the project. But then again there enlarment of the existing canal was a complete and utter failure. A lot of ship have had to unload cargo because the new expansion did not take into account the extra required water. Poor concrete, bad locks and even bad tugboat design have all contributed to a terrible expansion

 

[Harpy Eagle]

A New Canal Through Central America Could Have Devastating Consequences

The ramifications of the proposed route have environmentalists worried, and for good reason

www.smithsonianmag.com

Try reading this. Can not say it is very flattering of the project. But then again there enlarment of the existing canal was a complete and utter failure. A lot of ship have had to unload cargo because the new expansion did not take into account the extra required water. Poor concrete, bad locks and even bad tugboat design have all contributed to a terrible expansion

A traffic jam on a colossal scale

The Panama Canal is essential to global trade, but a recent drought has left large numbers of ships waiting to pass along it. Is an alternative route is needed?

www.bbc.com

yep, it never came to be. Always just a pipe dream.

Ships unload cargo as it is cheaper to do so and take it by train to the other side than to take it through the canal

 

[Maxdeath]

A traffic jam on a colossal scale

The Panama Canal is essential to global trade, but a recent drought has left large numbers of ships waiting to pass along it. Is an alternative route is needed?

www.bbc.com

yep, it never came to be. Always just a pipe dream.

Ships unload cargo as it is cheaper to do so and take it by train to the other side than to take it through the canal

They unload it because it makes the ship lighter so it can go into the canal without scraping the bottom of the ship and shutting down the canal. It costs more to unload and reload a ship.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

They unload it because it makes the ship lighter so it can go into the canal without scraping the bottom of the ship and shutting down the canal. It costs more to unload and reload a ship.

Weird, the people that run the canal tell a different story, the heavier the ship, the more water used and the more it cost. Thus they unload to save money.

I was just there earlier this year.

 

[Crepitus]

All I can say is....damn...

View attachment 1025454

They build them like that on purpose. It's known as "panamax", as in the maximum size that will go through the Panama Canal locks.

 

[Maxdeath]

The New Panama Canal: A Risky Bet (Published 2016)

After a Spanish-led consortium won the right to build locks for bigger ships at a rock-bottom price, internal arguments soon gave way to larger problems.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Maxdeath]

Why is Mexico Building a $5 Billion Canal?

The Tehuantepec Canal, as it is tentatively named, aims to provide an alternative route for maritime trade between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

www.slipmaps.com

Just another thing to show that the current canal has problems and that they are indeed looking at other options

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Why is Mexico Building a $5 Billion Canal?

The Tehuantepec Canal, as it is tentatively named, aims to provide an alternative route for maritime trade between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

www.slipmaps.com

Just another thing to show that the current canal has problems and that they are indeed looking at other options

Well, yeah the current canal is not perfect, but considering it is 90 years old it is still doing pretty good.

What are the chances of Mexico completing that project?

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Why is Mexico Building a $5 Billion Canal?

The Tehuantepec Canal, as it is tentatively named, aims to provide an alternative route for maritime trade between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

www.slipmaps.com

Just another thing to show that the current canal has problems and that they are indeed looking at other options

Mexico aims to compete with Panama Canal by using cargo trains

Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec rail corridor could complement container movements along the Panama Canal. Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec rail corridor could complement container movements along the Panama Canal

www.freightwaves.com

While Mexican authorities are bullish on the CIIT’s prospects, global logistics operators said they are skeptical it could ever replace or even compete with the Panama Canal, which handles about 14,000 vessels and 8 million TEUs annually.

“The challenge really is that the Panama Canal is about 50 miles long, and the railroad to get from the Pacific to the Gulf is around 200 miles, so it’s a much longer track,” Pawan Joshi, executive vice president of products and strategy at e2open, told FreightWaves. “Another challenge — how many containers can [the railroad] move? It’s also about the ports on either end, whether they’re able to unload those containers; do they have the appropriate infrastructure?”

 

[Maxdeath]

Well, yeah the current canal is not perfect, but considering it is 90 years old it is still doing pretty good.

What are the chances of Mexico completing that project?

It was updated recently. Did you see where some of the new concrete did not even make it until the first ship went through?
The original is 90 years old but the update was a disaster.
There have been a number of proposed canals will any of them actually get completed? Who knows but we need to do something it can be days or a weeks wait to get through the canal. You can bid for an early entry into the canal but that adds more cost. We have ships that are too big to fit in the updated canal and we will see the cost of going around the horn in higher prices. We complain about greenhouse gases and have ships waiting for days using up fuel, going around the horn also adds more greenhouse gases.
I see the U.S. and Mexico coming together to create another canal. But there are politics involved and politics seldom create what is needed. It always surprises me just how illogical politics can be

 

[Harpy Eagle]

It was updated recently. Did you see where some of the new concrete did not even make it until the first ship went through?
The original is 90 years old but the update was a disaster.
There have been a number of proposed canals will any of them actually get completed? Who knows but we need to do something it can be days or a weeks wait to get through the canal. You can bid for an early entry into the canal but that adds more cost. We have ships that are too big to fit in the updated canal and we will see the cost of going around the horn in higher prices. We complain about greenhouse gases and have ships waiting for days using up fuel, going around the horn also adds more greenhouse gases.
I see the U.S. and Mexico coming together to create another canal. But there are politics involved and politics seldom create what is needed. It always surprises me just how illogical politics can be

I would think it would be more China and Mexico coming together to build it.

Can you imagine the outcry if the US govt tried to help build something in Mexico?

 

[Maxdeath]

Mexico aims to compete with Panama Canal by using cargo trains

Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec rail corridor could complement container movements along the Panama Canal. Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec rail corridor could complement container movements along the Panama Canal

www.freightwaves.com

While Mexican authorities are bullish on the CIIT’s prospects, global logistics operators said they are skeptical it could ever replace or even compete with the Panama Canal, which handles about 14,000 vessels and 8 million TEUs annually.

“The challenge really is that the Panama Canal is about 50 miles long, and the railroad to get from the Pacific to the Gulf is around 200 miles, so it’s a much longer track,” Pawan Joshi, executive vice president of products and strategy at e2open, told FreightWaves. “Another challenge — how many containers can [the railroad] move? It’s also about the ports on either end, whether they’re able to unload those containers; do they have the appropriate infrastructure?”

Yes a rail system is not the better option

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Yes a rail system is not the better option

perhaps a temporary fix when the canal is backed up more than normal.

When we were there in Feb there was a long line of ships waiting. Could see them flying into the airport

 

[Maxdeath]

I would think it would be more China and Mexico coming together to build it.

Can you imagine the outcry if the US govt tried to help build something in Mexico?

I can imagine the outcry. But I also see the outcry if China is allowed to take part in what would be a large capital venture in Mexico.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

I can imagine the outcry. But I also see the outcry if China is allowed to take part in what would be a large capital venture in Mexico.

They are already doing it all over South America. They have a large footprint in Panama now as well, in part due to the US's negligence.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

perhaps a temporary fix when the canal is backed up more than normal.

When we were there in Feb there was a long line of ships waiting. Could see them flying into the airport

Why were the ships flying into the airport?