Panama - The Route

At just under 76,000 square kilometres and with a population of only 3.3 million, Panama punches way above its weight. The country is an important centre for international trade in the western hemisphere as both a major shipping thoroughfare and a regional economic power.

The passageway supports a well-developed services sector which accounts for 72 percent of the GDP (gross domestic product). Services include banking, insurance, government, the Zona Libre de Colón, the world’s second-largest free trade area after Hong Kong and, of course, the Panama Canal transit.

The Panama Canal took ten years, more than 75,000 workers and $400 million to complete. Since its opening in 1914 more than 700,000 vessels have passed through it, including five Clipper fleets to date. The story of its construction is one of human ingenuity and courage, years of sacrifice, crushing defeat and final victory.

At 51 miles (82 kilometres) long, the Panama Canal is a triumph of engineering over nature and was cut through one of the narrowest saddles of the isthmus, or strip of land, that joins North and South America. The Canal uses a system of locks which function as water lifts to raise ships from sea level, either the Pacific or the Atlantic, to the level of Gatun Lake, 26 metres above sea level. The ships then sail the channel through Continental Divide. After the unabashed industrialism of the locks, the transit passes through some of the most beautiful scenery and wildlife habitats to be seen anywhere.

Between 13,000 and 14,000 vessels use the Canal every year carrying between them some 185 million tonnes of cargo. In fact, commercial transportation activities through the shipping thoroughfare represent approximately five percent of the world trade.