The construction of the Panama Canal was one of the largest and most complex construction projects undertaken by mankind. The Panama Canal had an invaluable influence on the development of shipping and the economy as a whole in the Western Hemisphere and throughout the world, which led to its extremely high geopolitical significance. Thanks to the Panama Canal, the sea route from New York to San Francisco was reduced from 22.5 thousand km to 9.5 thousand km.

The narrow isthmus connecting North and South America has been considered a very promising place for creating the shortest route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans since the 16th century. In the 19th century, the development of technology and the need for such a route reached a point where the plan to create a canal through Panama seemed quite feasible.

In the 19th century, the development of technology and the need for such a route reached a point where the plan to create a canal through Panama seemed quite feasible.

1910 Map of the planned canal.

Inspired by the 10-year construction of the Suez Canal, the international company La Société Internationale du Canal Interocéanique in 1879 bought from the engineer Wise for 10 million francs the concession for the construction of the Panama Canal, which he received from the Colombian government, which controlled Panama at that time.

Fundraising for large-scale construction was led by Ferdinand Lesseps. Success with the Suez Canal helped him raise millions for the new project.

Soon after the canal design began, it became clear that this endeavor would be much more difficult to implement than digging a canal at sea level through a sandy desert. After all, the proposed route, 65 kilometers long, passed through rocky and sometimes mountainous terrain, while it was crossed by powerful rivers. And, most importantly, tropical diseases posed enormous health risks to workers.

However, Lesseps' optimistic plan envisaged the construction of a canal costing $120 million in just 6 years. The 40,000-strong team, almost entirely consisting of workers from the West Indies, was headed by engineers from France.

1885 French Panama Canal employees pose for a photograph.

Construction began in 1881.

1885 The workers came to receive their wages.

The Suez experience was of little help. It would probably be better in the long run if they didn't have the Suez Canal in their past.
David McCullough, "The Way Between the Seas"

1885 Jamaican workers push a cart loaded with dirt along a narrow gauge railway.

The project turned out to be a disaster. It quickly became apparent that building a canal at sea level was impossible and that the only workable plan was to build a chain of locks. At the same time, Lesseps stubbornly adhered to the plan to build a single-level canal.

1900 Workers carry out excavation work manually.

Meanwhile, workers and engineers died from malaria, yellow fever and dysentery, and construction was interrupted by frequent floods and landslides. By the time the gateway plan was adopted, it was already too late. An estimated 22,000 workers died. Construction was years behind schedule and cost hundreds of millions over budget.

1910 Abandoned French equipment in the canal zone.

The company went bankrupt and collapsed, destroying the hopes of 800 thousand investors. In 1893, Lesseps was found guilty of fraud and mismanagement and died in disgrace two years later.

1906 A man stands next to an abandoned French dredger.

In 1903, with the secret support of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia and in return awarded the US rights to the canal. The following year, the United States acquired the remains of the French company and continued construction.

1906 President Theodore Roosevelt sits in the cab of a crane during a visit to the canal construction site.

I took the canal zone and let Congress debate; and while the debate continues, the channel does the same.
Theodore Roosevelt

1908 American engineers sent by President Roosevelt.

Faced with the same disease problem as the French, the Americans embarked on an aggressive mosquito eradication campaign. (The link between malaria and mosquitoes was still a very new theory back then). This sharply reduced the incidence of illness and increased productivity.

1910 Mosquito exterminator at work in the canal area.

The channel of the Chagres River was blocked by the Gatun Dam, creating Lake Gatun, the largest artificial lake of those times. It stretches across half of a narrow isthmus.

January 1907. Earthworks at the site of the Gatun lock.

Massive locks were built at both ends of the canal on the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. These 33-meter-wide structures allowed ships to pass through a series of chambers with controlled water levels, rising to the height of Gatun Lake and the canal, 26 meters above sea level.

1910

The most difficult was the passage of the 13-kilometer section of Culebra through a mountain range, 64 meters high. 27 thousand tons of dynamite were used to blow up almost 80 million cubic meters of earth removed by steam shovels and trains.

1907 A dredge removes soil after a landslide in Culebra.

Due to an incorrect assessment of the composition of geological strata, excavation work was constantly subject to unpredictable landslides, the consequences of which sometimes took several months to combat.

1910 The railway, displaced after a landslide.


April 8, 1910. A man stands on the west bank next to the Pedro Miguel Lock under construction.


November 1910. President William Howard Taft (left) visiting Gatun Lock with Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes (seated right) and Chief Engineer Colonel George Goethals (standing right).


November 10, 1912. Construction of the Miraflores lock.


August 1912. A man is standing in one of the locks.


June 1912. View of the construction of the Culebra section from the western shore.


August 6, 1912.


November 1912. View from the top of Gatun Lock looking north towards the Atlantic Ocean.


June 1913. One of the deepest points on the Culebra stretch.


1913


1913


1913


November 1913. Workers are struggling with the consequences of a landslide.


1913 Workers take a break at the top of the lock.


1913 The train and the crane crossed paths at the Pedro Miguel lock.


1913 Gateway during construction.


1913 Engineers stand in front of the canal's massive sluice gates.


August 8, 1913. Construction of the Gatun Lock between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Gatun.


February 1, 1914. Men watch a dredger work to clean up the aftermath of a landslide in Cucarache.


1913 The spillway of the Gatun Dam, which separates the artificial Gatun Lake, the main part of the canal.

On December 10, 1913, a passable water route between the two oceans was finally created. On January 7, 1914, the French floating crane Alexandre La Valley made its first passage through the canal.

October 9, 1913. An explosion near the city of Gamboa opens the way for the canal to the Pacific Ocean.


1913 The explosion of the dam that separated the canal from the Atlantic Ocean.

Today, 4% of all world trade passes through the Panama Canal, about 15 thousand ships a year. Plans are underway to build an additional set of wide locks, as well as a competing channel through Nicaragua.

The largest fee for passage through the canal is 142 thousand for a cruise ship. The smallest fee was $0.36 for adventurer Richard Halliburton, who swam across the canal through the locks in 1928.

1913


1914


October 1913. The Miraflores Lock gate opens for inspection.


September 26, 1913. Tug U.S. Gaton is the first to pass through the Gatun lock.


April 29, 1915. S.S. Kronland passes through the Panama Canal.

It's not for nothing that the Panama Canal is called the eighth wonder of the world.. This masterpiece of engineering is one of the most intense, extensive and complex artificial waterways in the world. And hardly any other engineering structure on Earth has such a rich and dramatic history.

The Panama Canal is a shipping canal connecting the Pacific Gulf of Panama with the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, located on the Isthmus of Panama in the state of Panama.

Length - 81.6 km, including 65.2 km on land and 16.4 km along the bottom of the Panama and Limon bays (for the passage of ships to deep water).

The construction of the Panama Canal was one of the largest and most complex construction projects undertaken by mankind. The Panama Canal had an invaluable influence on the development of shipping and the economy as a whole in the Western Hemisphere and throughout the Earth, which determined its extremely high geopolitical significance.

Thanks to the Panama Canal, the sea route from New York to San Francisco was reduced from 22.5 thousand km to 9.5 thousand km.

Panama was discovered in 1501 by the Spanish conquistador Rodrigo de Bastidas. Vasco Nunez de Balboa sailed with Bastidas - he was the first to cross the Isthmus of Panama, spending weeks on the way to the Pacific Ocean. In 1519 Balboa was falsely accused of treason and executed, but thanks to him the Isthmus of Panama ended up on geographical maps. Since then the idea of ​​connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by water, so as not to make a long-term journey around South America full of dangers, did not leave the minds of sailors and traders.

In 1502, Christopher Columbus founded the village of Santa Maria de Belen at the mouth of the Belen River, which was soon destroyed by the Indians. In 1509, the Spaniards founded a colony on the coast of the Gulf of Darien. Ten years later, the city of Panama was founded - the current capital of the state of the same name. The Spaniards transported the mined gold, silver, and jewelry along a stone road called Camino real - the Royal Road. From the city of Panama on the Pacific coast, treasures were transported to Puerto Bello (Portobelo) on the Atlantic.

In 1529, a Spanish officer, outstanding mathematician and geographer named Alvaro de Saavedra Seron proposed four options for digging a canal. He died without having time to acquaint anyone in power with his projects, but five years later, King Charles V of Spain personally ordered a survey of the shores of Panama in search of a waterway across the Isthmus of Panama. In 1550, the Portuguese sailor Antonio Galvão published a book outlining four projects, largely identical to those of Saavedra. At the beginning of the 19th century, the German naturalist and traveler Alexander Humboldt proposed nine plans for digging a canal, including through the northern part of the American continent.

By the end of the 18th century, the gold and silver mines known at that time had been worked out, and the importance of the route across the isthmus began to gradually decline. In addition, there was a constant threat of pirate attacks. But, losing importance for Spain, the route through the Isthmus of Panama became increasingly important for a young power, growing and gaining strength - the United States. In 1846, the United States entered into a treaty of friendship, trade and navigation with New Granada, which then included Panama. The American side pledged to guarantee the inviolability of the Isthmus of Panama. At the same time, the United States received a concession to build a railway through it. It turned out to be a well-timed move. In 1849, gold was discovered in California, and thousands of people flocked to San Francisco. An American company began construction of a railway that cost a huge amount and about 60 thousand human lives. The road, less than 80 kilometers long, was completed only in 1855. To recoup costs, the company inflated transportation tariffs exorbitantly, taking advantage of its monopoly. However, this monopoly did not last long: other companies established regular communication around Cape Horn, which was much cheaper, although it took longer. And the direct route across the isthmus fell into desolation for the second time. At that time, a “treaty of mutual distrust” was in force between the United States and Great Britain - the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, according to which both parties renounced exclusive rights to build the canal. France took advantage of this contradiction.

The General Interoceanic Canal Company was created, headed by diplomat and entrepreneur Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal. After Suez, Lesseps became a national hero; he was elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences and received the title of engineer, although he had no technical education.

On January 1, 1880, a groundbreaking ceremony took place at the mouth of the Rio Grande River. Maximum amount the workers involved in construction amounted to 19,000 people. The work was carried out on a grand scale, but by 1885 only one tenth of what was planned was completed. The main reason for this was technical difficulties unforeseen by the project and the tropical climate. The proximity of malarial swamps caused outbreaks of the disease among workers living in unsanitary conditions. Hundreds of people died from yellow fever. The lack of timely medical care and necessary medications led to gigantic casualties among construction workers.

The Isthmus of Panama is one of the most complex geological areas on the earth's surface - mountainous, covered with impenetrable jungle and deep swamps. The local mountains, formed as a result of volcanic activity, are a mixture of hard rocks and soft rocks, and the mixture is disordered and located at different angles. The canal builders passed 6 large geological faults and 5 centers of volcanic activity. Add to this the scorching sun, very high humidity, heavy tropical rains typical of these places, as well as regular floods of the Chagres River, sometimes reaching catastrophic proportions, and, of course, yellow fever. It’s good that the engineers of the past did not have detailed information about the geology of the isthmus and all the other natural “surprises”, otherwise the Panama Canal would hardly have ever been built.

Lesseps decided to found a joint-stock company - last time this idea turned out to be successful. Three years after the completion of the Suez Canal, it began to generate net profits, and before nationalization in 1955, the company paid out 12.4 billion francs to shareholders. But in in this case Lesseps's enterprise ended in complete failure and became a tragedy for many French people.

In 1876, Lesseps acquired the engineer Vase's project and concession. This cost 10 million francs. In 1880, a report was compiled according to which the costs were estimated at 843 million francs. As it turned out later, this amount was very underestimated. On February 1, 1881, construction of the Panama Canal began. It was supposed to run at sea level, without locks or dams. A tunnel had to be built through the pass at the junction of the Veragua and San Blas mountain ranges (87 meters above sea level).

Financial difficulties began almost immediately. Few people wanted to invest money in building a canal somewhere on the other side of the world. We had to conduct a wide advertising campaign, and for this we had to pay a significant amount to banks and the press. The railway, intersecting with the route of the future canal, had to be purchased from the Americans for an amount three times its value. For the years 1879-1889, expenses amounted to 1274 million francs. Meanwhile, construction barely progressed.

At the end of 1887, under pressure from the young engineer Philippe Bunau-Varilly, Lesseps was forced to agree to move to the lock canal. According to the engineer's plan, the most high level The channel was supposed to have 52 meters, and this circumstance entailed the need to revise the project. For this, engineer Alexander Gustave Eiffel, who was just finishing the construction of his legendary tower, was called from Paris to get involved in the work and prepare a canal project using locks. But all efforts to revive the rapidly deteriorating work were in vain; due to lack of money, they were suspended at around 72 meters.

The financial difficulties of the Panama Company increased from year to year. In 1885, Lesseps and his colleagues decided to improve the company's affairs by issuing a long-term winning loan. To issue such a loan, the consent of the government and parliament - the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate - was required, because private companies did not have the legal right to conduct lotteries. The company began processing journalists, ministers and deputies in order to carry out changes in the law. Baron de Reynach distributed cash bribes worth more than four million francs across all echelons of power!
The struggle over state sanction to issue a winning loan lasted about three years. The company could no longer hide either the unsatisfactory progress of work on the isthmus or its financial problems. Lesseps's halo dimmed, and his physical strength was running out.

The Panama company, in order to stay afloat, issued two more ordinary loans that did not require government permission. To attract subscribers, she made the bonds especially attractive by raising the nominal (called coupon) interest rate to 10% per annum. The banks that placed the bonds had to pay more and more.

In April 1888, the Chamber of Deputies approved a loan, supported by the Senate and the President, the limit of which was increased to 720 million francs. President Theodore Roosevelt actively supported the Panama project, for which he was later accused of the fact that public money did not reach French investors, but ended up in Morgan's pockets.
Theodore Roosevelt (center)

The subscription for bonds, which began in June 1888, almost immediately ended in complete failure. It collected only 254 million, of which 31 million were the costs of the issue, which went to the banks. Finally, the law required that the company set aside a special reserve fund from the collected money as a guarantee for the payment of winnings and the redemption of bonds.
The leaders of the Panama Company, led by father and son Lesseps, continued to make desperate efforts to avoid bankruptcy, assuring at the shareholders' meeting that construction would be completed on time and money would flow into the company's coffers.

They undertook a trip around the country with speeches guaranteeing their honesty. But after deputies refused to support the bill on preferential treatment for debt repayments, the end came. On February 4, 1889, the Civil Court of the Department of Seine officially declared the bankruptcy and liquidation of the Panama Company and appointed a liquidator.
At the time of bankruptcy, after eight years of canal construction, the work was only two-fifths completed. The Panamanian company collected 1.3 billion francs through the issue of shares and bonds. Of these, 104 million francs were paid to banks as commissions, 250 million as interest on bonds and for their redemption. Contracting companies were paid 450 million francs, but a significant part of the work was not completed according to the estimate.

During the liquidation of the company, it turned out that there were no liquid assets left on its balance sheet, with the exception of a giant unexcavated ditch and a pile of rusting equipment in the Central American countryside. The number of investors who lost all their savings after the bankruptcy of the Panama Company reached, according to various estimates, 700–800 thousand people.
Three years after the financial collapse, in 1892, a corruption scandal erupted when the French nationalist press began publishing revelations of massive bribery of politicians, government officials and the press by the administration of the Panama Company, which tried to hide the company's deplorable situation from the public and obtain permission to carry out a "salvation" » winning loan.

Numerous financial abuses were revealed, primarily the widespread corruption of all branches of government. Charges of accepting bribes were brought against 510 members of parliament who took bribes not by stealth in an envelope, but by bank check!

The scandal led to the fall of three French governments. Many ministers were involved in it, including the future Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, and virtually none of them were brought to justice.
In the dock were the elder and younger de Lesseps, Gustave Eiffel, several company managers and the former minister of public works. In 1893, they were sentenced to various prison terms (Eiffel - to two years and a 20 thousand francs fine), but four months later these sentences were annulled by the court of cassation, and the defendants in the case were released.
Ferdinand de Lesseps, due to his advanced age and services to the country, was spared prison. Lesseps's health, significantly undermined during the years spent in Panama, suffered very significant damage in the current situation. He went mad and died in December 1894 at the age of 89. Charles lived until 1923, having time to see the Panama Canal in action and learn that his and his father’s good name had been restored...

Ferdinand de Lesseps experienced both the intoxication of success - this is Suez, and the bitterness of disappointment - this is Panama. When he managed to connect the two seas, sovereigns and nations gave him honors, but after he was defeated, unable to cope with the rocks of the Cordillera, he turned into an ordinary swindler...

As soon as the passions subsided, it turned out that the deceived investors could save at least part of their money only on the condition that construction continued. In the year of Lesseps's death, in 1894, a new Panama Canal Company was created in France, which very slowly, but continued construction and survey work.
The Americans who bought the property of the new Company, without forgetting the sad experience of their predecessors, significantly adjusted the canal project, choosing the option with locks, relied not on private capital, but on government funding, and fine-tuned the construction management procedure. Modern discoveries in the field of medicine also came to their aid: by that time it had been established that mosquitoes and mosquitoes were the destroyers of the French - carriers of yellow fever and malaria, so unprecedented efforts were made in the territory to destroy the insidious insects. Serious sanitary and hygienic measures were taken throughout the construction of the canal. However, even in this case, there were human casualties - during the second stage of construction of the Panama Canal, 5,600 people died, and 70 thousand workers took part in it. Construction was labor-intensive and took ten years. According to official information, the construction of the century cost the Americans $380 million.

Whether Ferdinand de Lesseps was really guilty of fraud, or whether this elderly man simply turned out to be a victim of self-deception and became a pawn in someone else’s dishonest game, now probably cannot be established. The methods used in the construction of the canal can easily be called fraudulent. The excessively underestimated cost of the project and the timing of its implementation initially misled investors. This was also facilitated by an active advertising campaign that praised optimistic forecasts, but which constantly hid the difficulties.

Despite this, public opinion and the press did not approve of the severity of the sentence...

By 1888, almost twice as much money was spent on the construction of the canal as expected, and only a third of the work was completed. The company went bankrupt, which led to the ruin of thousands of small shareholders.

Further investigation revealed facts of massive corruption, bribery of officials and newspaper editors by the company. This adventure was called the Panama one, and the word “Panama” became synonymous with a scam, fraud.

In 1894 in France it was organized new Panama Canal Company, but work was not resumed. The New Company conducted behind-the-scenes negotiations with the United States government, which hoped to use the channel to further penetrate the economies of Central and South America. Negotiations were successful, and the deal was concluded on February 13, 1903. The Company ceded to the United States government for the sum of $40 million its rights to build the canal and all equipment and property available on the site.

The conditions under which the company carried out work on Colombian territory did not satisfy the United States, and they developed a new treaty, according to which the entire 10-mile wide strip of land through which the canal passed was withdrawn from the sovereignty of the Republic of Colombia. The cities of Colon and Panama were declared free ports. The protection of the canal was entrusted to the government of the Republic of Colombia. The government of the United States was obliged to pay a lump sum to the government of the Republic of Colombia a measly sum of 10 million dollars and then annually pay a small monetary compensation of 250 thousand dollars.

This agreement was already signed by both governments on March 18, 1903, a month after the acquisition of rights to the canal, and submitted to their senates for ratification.

The Colombian Senate, under pressure from the masses, outraged by the enslaving conditions, rejected the agreement, demanding to ensure its sovereignty over the canal zone and wanting to receive greater compensation for the concession it represented. The refusal of the Colombian Senate to ratify the treaty caused a storm of indignation among the ruling circles of the United States. The President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, proposed not to stand on ceremony with the random owners of the territory needed by the United States and to deal with them at his own discretion.

Using bribery and pressure, American Wall Street entrepreneurs, through their agents, staged the “Panamanian Revolution” on November 4, 1903.

The newly formed Republic of Panama, which includes 84 thousand square kilometers, including the area where the future canal will pass, declared itself independent from Colombia, and it was headed by pro-American hardened businessmen, bought with American dollars.

United States President Theodore Roosevelt immediately ordered the commanders of American warships stationed in Colon and the Pacific port of Mexico - Acapulco, to prevent Colombian troops from landing on the shores of Panama, heading there to suppress the “revolution”. The American Panama Railroad Directorate also refused to transport Colombian soldiers for this purpose.

Just a week after the “revolution,” the United States rushed to formally recognize independence and independence of the Republic of Panama, and on November 18, 1903, they concluded a new agreement with the government of this republic on the construction of a canal on even more favorable terms for the United States than the agreement previously rejected by the Colombian Senate. On February 26, 1904, the area adjacent to the canal, 1,422 square kilometers with a population of 14.47 thousand people, was annexed to the United States and called the “Panama Canal Zone.”

The Republic of Colombia did not risk a war with the United States and was forced to admit defeat. Construction of the canal was resumed and continued by the United States.

Culebra notch

The Culebra Cut, in terms of the totality of the labor, people and money used, was a kind of “special miracle” of the Panama Canal. The essence of this work was to overcome the multi-kilometer section between Gamboa on the Chagres River through the Continental Divide mountain range to the south to Pedro Miguel. The lowest point on the pass between Gold Hill in the east and Contractors Hill in the west was about one hundred meters above sea level.

Technically, it all boiled down to drilling holes into which explosives were placed, the detonation of which would lift a mass of stones and petrified clay into the air. Steam shovels then removed the resulting crushed soil, placing it on railcars for transportation to dump sites. In general, working equipment, in addition to the railway as such, included steam shovels, unloaders, spreaders and track movers. Of all these machines, only steam excavators were known to the French, and they were much less powerful. The Lidgerwood unloader, manufactured by the Lidgerwood Manufacturing Company of New York City, was an indispensable tool for the job. Wooden single-sided platforms with an average load capacity of 14.5 cubic meters transported most of the excavated soil; they were made up of long trains (there were no gaps between the platforms; they were closed with special gutters), which were hooked up to powerful locomotives built in America.

The unloading system was interesting. The unloader's three-ton plow was mounted on the last platform, and a long cable ran from it to a winch on the very front platform. Having received power from the locomotive, the winch began to quickly pull the plow towards itself, thereby unloading a train of 20 platforms in one ten-minute movement. One of these machines once set an 8-hour record, unloading 18 trains during this time, that is, over five and a half kilometers of platforms and 5,780 cubic meters of soil. Engineers calculated that twenty of these unloaders, which required 120 workers to operate, replaced the manual labor of 5,666 people.

The spoiler was another American invention. It was a trolley running on compressed air; on both sides it had a kind of wings that could be lowered or raised. When lowered, they covered several meters along the sides of the rail track. Moving forward, the spreader pushed and leveled the material left by the unloader. Like him, the spoiler did the work of five to six thousand ordinary workers at a time.

Another machine, the track mover, was invented by the American William G. Bierd, general manager of the Panama Railways from September 1905 to October 1907. A massive crane-like machine lifted an entire section of road - rails and sleepers - and moved it in a different direction, a maximum of more than two meters at a time. Its benefit was especially great because the tracks had to be constantly moved in accordance with the progress of work. Once, requiring a dozen people to operate it, in one day such a machine moved over a kilometer of track, which otherwise would have required the labor of more than six hundred workers.

A significant number of large, four-sided tipping trucks (i.e., dump trucks) from Western and Oliver were also used. Since unloading them turned out to be very difficult, due to the fact that the heavy clay stuck to the steel walls, they began to be used almost exclusively for transporting stones from the Notch to the Gatun Dam. Their four-sided design made it impossible to use the unloader. Many millions of cubic meters of excavated soil had to be diverted away from the extraction site. Part of this soil was used to connect four small islands in the Bay of Panama (Naos, Perico, Culebra and Flamenco) to build a breakwater. Along the top of this breakwater there is a paved road, which essentially runs along the Pacific Ocean for several kilometers. The area between the mainland and the island of Naos was especially difficult in terms of embankment work, since the bottom there was soft, and whole tons of stones disappeared into it without a trace. The railway and the piles with which these works were carried out were once washed away by the sea, which required their re-construction. As a result, in order to reach the island of Naos with these works, the builders needed to pour ten times more of the planned volumes.

The resulting soil was also used to fill two square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean to create space for the construction of the city of Balboa and the military fort of Amador. Millions of cubic meters also went into building large mounds in the jungle. The largest of them, Tabernilla, contained over ten million cubic meters. Other significant embankments were the Gatun Dam and Miraflores.

The Gatun Dam, on the Atlantic side, was during its construction the largest dam on Earth, and the resulting Gatun Lake was the largest artificial reservoir on the planet. Nowadays, Gatun Lake is not even among the thirty similar lakes. Two dams of similar importance were built on the Pacific side - the Miraflores Spillway and, already in the thirties, the Madden Dam further up the Chagres River. Upon completion of the Gatun Dam, the valley of the Chagres River between Gamboa and Gatun turned into Lake Gatun. The completion of the Culebra Notch expanded this lake across the Continental Divide to the Pedro Miguel Locks.

Landslides along the banks of the Culebra excavation served as a source constant problems for engineers. The first such landslide under the Americans occurred near Cucarachi on October 4, 1907, when hundreds of cubic meters fell into the Notch after several days of heavy rain. For ten days, the landslide moved at a speed of more than four meters per day. To this day, Cucaracha remains a landslide-prone area.

A “normal” landslide, like the one occurring in the Cucarachi area, occurs due to the fact that porous material lying on a solid rock base is liquefied by water and at some stage loses its adhesion to the base and collapses in entire layers, often many meters thick .

There is also another type of landslide called “structural” or “deformation”. In this case, it depends on the geological structure of the rock masses. In the case of the Culebra Cut, the removal of material caused the high banks to lose stability and collapse under their own weight, often in the deepest areas, thereby reducing the depth of the channel. The greatest threat of such landslides occurs during dry seasons, thereby not depending on rainfall.

The annual labor record for the construction of the Culebra excavation was achieved in 1908, then, in addition to tens of millions of additional cubic meters of soil, it was also necessary to move the Panama Railway to a higher level, due to the impending appearance of Lake Gatun. This required the construction of about 64 kilometers and was completed on May 25, 1912, costing about nine million dollars.

By 1913, the construction of three giant locks was completed, which became a real wonder of the world. The walls of each airlock chamber were as high as a 6-story building. Each series of locks: Gatun on the Atlantic coast and Pedro Miguel and Miraflores on the Pacific coast, required more than 1.5 million cubic meters. meters of concrete, which were cast into steel structures from a huge 6-ton bucket.
On August 15, 1914, the ship Cristobal was the first to travel along the Canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. On board was the “good genius” of construction, Philippe Bunod-Varilla. It took the ship 9 hours to complete the passage. Thanks to the artificial artery, the ship sailing from Ecuador to Europe “saved” about 8 thousand kilometers.

The first ship sailed along the canal on August 15, 1914. The official opening of the canal took place only on June 12, 1920.

From the very moment the canal was built, the United States was its actual and legal owners. It is interesting that the canal and the area around it have always been used by the United States not so much for the purpose of making a profit from cargo transportation, since the main principle was not the profitability of the canal, but to cover the costs of its maintenance and maintenance in normal condition, but for the purpose of gaining the ability to control the region. The canal zone was home to numerous military bases used to train soldiers. In the country itself, at different times, there were from 10 to 65 thousand American military personnel, who were stationed there not so much to service the canal, but to exercise control over Panama and other countries in the region. Moreover, there was a special “School of the Americas”, which taught soldiers strategy and tactics in the fight against rebels on the continent. The area around the Panama Canal has always been important to the United States.

The issue of channel ownership has been raised many times. Many, primarily US representatives, were against transferring the canal to Panama, because they believed that such actions could only lead to the decline of the cargo transportation system, since the Panamanians simply would not be able to manage the canal.

French companies began construction of the canal, but they were unable to complete the project due to bankruptcy. The construction that had begun was bought by the United States, which concluded an agreement in 1903 to transfer the canal for perpetual use. In addition to receiving the canal and the surrounding land under full control, under this treaty the United States was given the right to station its troops at any time in any area of ​​Panama and, in general, was allowed to feel at home. The contract price was $10 million plus an annual rent of $250 thousand.

An interesting fact in the history of Panama. As you know, Panama was a colony of Spain for a long time, and since 1821 it became part of the federal Colombia. The struggle for independence here continued throughout Panama's history, with occasional uprisings and movements for freedom from Colombia. But, oddly enough, it was the United States that helped Panama gain independence. Of course, the intentions of the United States were far from noble; their main goal was, after all, the Panama Canal, and here’s why. To sign an agreement on the transfer of rights to the channel, the consent of at least two parties was required.

At the same time, separatist sentiments intensified in Panama by the beginning of the 20th century, which was right in the hands of the United States. But a certain threat was posed by the troops of Colombia, whose authorities did not want to just give up Panama. That is why, in order to ensure security, and indeed the very fact of concluding the agreement, the United States paid Colombia 25 million dollars for the independence of Panama.

Colombia agreed to "let go" of Panama in 1903, although Panama's freedom can only be said to be provisional as it immediately came under de facto US control.

The further history of the canal, Panama and everything that hovered around it I will tell you in the next post about the modern Panama Canal.

In the meantime, let's look at some more footage of the canal construction:

Panorama, clickable

Panorama, clickable

Remember which ones exist and how they were built The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

Panama Canal- a navigable artificial canal, 82 km long, located in Central America, on the Isthmus of Panama, in the Republic of Panama. Connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and is critical to international shipping and maritime trade. Construction of the canal began in 1881 and ended in 1914. According to statistics, about 14,000 ships pass through the canal annually, carrying about 203 million tons of cargo.

General information

Channel location

Scheme of passage of the lock complex of Lake Gatun

From the Atlantic Ocean, the Panama Canal begins at the Bahia Limon harbor. Bahía Limón). The harbor houses the deep-water port of Cristobal. Cristóbal), as well as the commercial port of Colon (eng. Colon). Then, a 3.2 km canal leads to the locks of Lake Gatun. The Gatunsky locks complex is 1.9 km long, with its help passing ships rise to the lake level to a height of 26.5 m above sea level. A separate canal, built in 2016, leads to a complex of locks Agua Clara, located parallel to the Gatunsky locks, and designed for the passage of standard vessels Neopanamax.

Ships travel 24.2 km along the artificial Gatun Lake to the natural waterway formed by the Chagres River. Chagres), flowing out of Lake Gatun. Along this river, ships travel 8.5 km and end up in an artificial valley, 12.6 km long, laid across the Culebra mountain range. Culebra). In this section, ships pass under the Centennial Bridge. Behind this section of the canal there is a single-stage Pedro Miguel lock, 1.4 km long, with which ships are lowered to 9.5 m. Behind the lock, at an altitude of 16.5 m above sea level, is the artificial Lake Miraflores, 1.7 km long.

Behind the lake there is a two-stage complex of Miraflores locks, 1.7 km long, with the help of which ships are lowered 16.5 m to sea level. Behind the locks, in the harbor, is the port of Balboa, with developed railway connections and the “Bridge of the Americas”. Not far from here is the capital of Panama - Panama City. A 13.2 km canal leads from the harbor to the Pacific Ocean, opening into the Gulf of Panama.

Channel configuration

Outline map of the Panama Canal

Due to the S-shape of the Isthmus of Panama, the Panama Canal is directed from southeast to northwest. The canal consists of two artificial lakes connected by canals and deepened river beds. There are three groups of locks along the canal. Three-chamber gateway Gatun, from the Atlantic Ocean, provides passage from Limon Bay to Lake Gatun. Double chamber gateway Miraflores and single chamber gateway Pedro Miguel from the Pacific Ocean they provide passage from Panama Bay to the canal bed. A new three-chamber airlock is located parallel to them Cocoli, for the passage of ships Neopanamax. The difference between the levels of the Panama Canal and sea level is 25.9 meters. Lake Alajuela acts as a reservoir and provides additional water supply.

The locks have the ability to ensure simultaneous oncoming traffic of ships along the canal. In practice, this opportunity is almost never used. The old lock chambers are 33.53 m wide, 304.8 m long, minimum depth is 12.55 m, and the volume of water held is 101 thousand m³. Large ships are guided through the locks by small railway locomotives called "mules". The traction force of the electric locomotive is about 11 thousand kg, the speed is 1.6 - 3.2 km/h.

Until 2014, the dimensions of ships passing through the canal should not exceed the following dimensions: length - 294.1 m, width - 32.3 m, draft - 12 m, height from the waterline to the highest point of the vessel - 57.91 m. In low water conditions, you can obtain permission to pass a vessel with a height of 62.5 m. After the reconstruction of the canal, completed in 2016, the parameters of passing vessels increased and vessels up to 49 m wide, up to 366 m long and with a draft of up to 15 m became acceptable.

Also, during the reconstruction, new lock complexes were built. Along its length, the canal is crossed three times by bridges: the “Bridge of Two Americas” road bridge, the “Century Bridge” road bridge and the “Atlantic Bridge” bridge under construction. Between the Panamanian cities of Panama and Colon there are roads and railways running along the canal route.

History of construction

Prerequisites for creation

Vasco Nunez de Balboa. He was one of the first to explore the Isthmus of Panama at the beginning of the 16th century.

The discovery of Panama occurred in 1501, the discoverer was the Spanish conquistador Rodrigo de Bastidas. His comrade-in-arms, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, was the first to cross the Isthmus of Panama, spending several weeks traveling to the Pacific Ocean. Since that time, the idea arose of connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by water, without making a long journey around South America.

In 1502, Christopher Columbus founded the settlement of Santa Maria de Belém at the mouth of the Belém River. In 1509, the Spaniards founded a colony on the coast of the Gulf of Darien, and ten years later the city of Panama was founded. From the city of Panama and the Pacific Ocean, the extracted valuables were transported to Puerto Bello, to the Atlantic Ocean, along the Royal Route - Camino real.

In 1529, one of the Spanish officers with outstanding knowledge in mathematics and geography, Alvaro de Saavedra Ceron, developed four options for digging a canal. Without having time to acquaint influential persons of the state with these projects, he died. Five years later, King Charles V of Spain ordered the exploration of Panama for the presence of a waterway across the isthmus.

In 1550, the Portuguese sailor Antonio Galvao wrote a book describing four options for digging a canal. At the beginning of the 19th century, the German Alexander Humboldt, a naturalist and traveler, developed nine projects for the construction of a canal.

By the end of the 18th century, the flow of goods along the Royal Route began to dry up and the importance of the route for Spain began to decline. However, for the United States, this path, on the contrary, was increasingly important. In 1846, a treaty of friendship, trade and navigation was concluded between the United States and New Granada. The United States guaranteed the inviolability of the Isthmus of Panama, in return receiving the right to build a railway. In 1849, gold deposits were discovered in California and people flocked to San Francisco. Significant expenses were spent during the construction of the road. cash and 60 thousand human lives. Construction of the 80 km railway was completed in 1855. Trying to recoup costs, the company excessively inflated prices for its services and, over time, the number of railway customers decreased, preferring the cheaper, albeit longer, journey around Cape Horn. As a result of this, the road across the Isthmus of Panama fell into disrepair for the second time.

Under French control. 1881-1894

The first stages of canal construction

Since 1850, the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty was in force between the United States and Great Britain, according to which the parties renounced exclusive rights to build the canal. France, which was not bound by any treaty, took advantage of this provision. Entrepreneur Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal, created the Universal Interoceanic Canal Company. After Suez, he became a national hero, was elected to the French Academy of Sciences and received the title of engineer, without having any technical education. Having so many titles and unquestioned authority, he easily received permission from the Colombian government to build the canal.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place on January 1, 1880 at the mouth of the Rio Grande River. Up to 19 thousand people worked on the construction of the canal. Despite the breadth and scope of construction, only 10% of the canal was built in five years. The reasons for the delay were both unforeseen technical difficulties and a high percentage of worker illnesses. The proximity of malarial works contributed to the occurrence of outbreaks of yellow fever. The necessary medical care was not provided and the casualties among construction workers were gigantic.

The Isthmus of Panama is a complex geological area - a mountainous area covered with impenetrable jungle and deep swamps. The mountains are a jumbled mixture of hard rock and soft rock. During construction, workers passed six major geological faults and five centers of volcanic activity. Heat, high humidity, tropical rains, and floods of the Chagres River brought their negative impact. If engineers had had complete information about the geology of the isthmus, construction of the canal may not have even begun.

To ensure financing for the project, Lesseps, just as during the construction of the Suez Canal, decided to found a joint-stock company. In the case of the Suez Canal, the idea turned out to be successful and three years after the completion of the Suez Canal, shareholders began to make a profit. But in the case of the Panama Canal, the enterprise ended in complete failure.

Workers on the canal construction

In 1876, Lesseps bought the design of the engineer Vaz and the building permit. 10 million francs were spent for these purposes. According to a report compiled in 1880, the cost of building the canal was estimated at 843 million francs. Construction of the canal began on February 1, 1881. No locks or dams were envisaged; the canal was supposed to pass at sea level, and a tunnel was planned to be built in the area of ​​the pass at the junction of the Veragua and San Blas mountain ranges.

At the end of 1887, guided by the advice of the young engineer Philippe Bunod-Varilla, Lesseps agreed to changes to the project, and it was decided to build a canal with locks. The highest level of the canal was supposed to be 52 meters, taking these circumstances into account, the project required revision. For further work on the project, the famous engineer Gustave Eiffel was called from Paris, who had just finished work on his tower. However, despite all efforts, work on the construction of the canal fell into disrepair and, due to lack of funding, was suspended at around 72 meters.

Trying to improve the financial condition of the project, in 1885 Lesseps and his colleagues decided to issue long-term winning loan bonds. Private companies did not have the right to issue such a loan; the consent of the government and parliament was required. The company, by bribing influential people, was able to obtain permission to issue bonds. About 4 million francs were spent on bribes, permission was received three years after the company’s request. Meanwhile, work on the isthmus was getting worse and worse, and the financial problems could no longer be hidden. Lesseps himself had already lost his former energy, and moral and physical fatigue was taking its toll.

Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez and Panama Canals

To stay afloat, the Panama Company issued two more loans that did not require government approval. By raising the rate on them to 10%, she tried to make the shares more attractive. In April 1888, deputies approved the loan, which was also supported by the president and the Senate. The loan limit increased to 720 million francs. However, the subscription to the bonds that had begun ended in failure - of the 254 million francs collected, 31 million were bank costs; in addition, the law required the creation of a reserve fund to guarantee the payment of winnings and the redemption of bonds. Lesseps and his son traveled around the country giving lectures, trying to avoid bankruptcy, promising timely completion of construction and associated financial improvement.

Deputies did not support the bill on preferential debt repayment and the company went bankrupt. On February 4, 1889, the Civil Court officially declared the Panama Company bankrupt and appointed a liquidator. At this point, after eight years of construction, the canal was 40% complete. By issuing bonds, 1.3 billion francs were collected, of which 104 million were paid to banks as commissions and 250 million were paid as interest on bonds and for their redemption. The contractors were paid 450 million francs, but the entire scope of work indicated in the estimate was not completed. During the liquidation process, it turned out that the company had no liquid assets left. The number of investors who lost their investments after the company's bankruptcy was close to 800 thousand people.

In 1892, information leaked to the press about the massive bribery of politicians in order to push through a law authorizing a loan for the Panama Company, which in turn carefully concealed the real state of affairs. 510 members of parliament who received bribes by bank check were charged with accepting bribes.

A trial was held of the leadership of the Panama Company - father and son Lesseps, Gustave Eiffel, several company managers and the former minister of public works. All defendants received various prison sentences, in particular G. Eiffel was sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 20 thousand francs. Four months later, by decision of the cassation court, the convicts were released. Ferdinand de Lesseps, due to his venerable age and services to his countries, was spared imprisonment. However, the emotional breakdown resulted in mental breakdown and insanity. In December 1894 he died at the age of 89. His son, Charles, lived until 1923 and was able to see the constructed canal in action.

After analyzing the construction of the canal, financiers made the assumption that investors could get their money back if construction of the canal continued. In 1894, a new Panama Canal Company was created in France, which continued work on the canal, but there was no significant progress in construction.

Under US control. 1904-1920

Transportation of selected soil

The New Panama Canal Company, organized in 1894 in France, negotiated with the US government to sell the enterprise. Having reached an agreement, the parties signed an agreement on February 13, 1903. For $40 million, the Company ceded to the US government the right to build the canal and the existing equipment. The Americans did not use private capital, but provided government funding for the construction. The canal design has undergone significant changes - the choice fell on the option of a canal with locks.

The latest advances in the field of medicine were used - by that time it had become clear that mosquitoes and mosquitoes were carriers of yellow fever and malaria, so unprecedented measures were taken on the construction site - in order to destroy insects, swamps were drained and plants were cut down. Sanitary and hygienic preventive measures were taken throughout the entire construction of the canal.

Having started construction, the United States decided to change the conditions under which work was carried out in Colombia. According to the new agreement, a strip of land 16 km wide passed from Colombian jurisdiction to the United States, and the cities of Colon and Panama were declared free ports. In return, Colombia received a one-time payment of $10 million and $250 thousand annually. The treaty was signed on March 18, 1903 and submitted for ratification in the parliaments of both states.

The Colombian Senate did not vote to ratify the treaty, demanding its sovereignty over the canal zone and greater compensation. In turn, the United States supported separatists determined to separate Panama from Colombia, which caused the Panamanian Revolution, which resulted in the formation of the new state of Panama with the capital of the same name.

Manual sampling of soil from the future channel

US President T. Roosevelt ordered warships in Colon and Acapulco to prevent Colombian troops from landing on the shores of Panama. The Panamanian Railway also refused to transport Colombian soldiers. A week after the start of the revolution, the United States recognized the independence of Panama and on November 18, 1903, concluded a new treaty with the young republic. According to the treaty, on February 26, 1904, the territory adjacent to the canal, with an area of ​​1,422 km² and a population of 14,470 people, was annexed by the United States and named the “Panama Canal Zone”.

Colombia did not risk open confrontation with the United States and admitted defeat. Construction of the canal resumed and continued with US forces. During construction under the direction of the United States, 5,600 of the 70,000 workers killed. Construction lasted ten years and cost $380 million.

Culebra notch

The Culebra excavation, in terms of the totality of the efforts made, the people involved and the finances involved, became a unique achievement of the Panama Canal. This work involved the passage of many kilometers between Gamboa, on the Chagres River, through the Continental Divide mountain range, south to Pedro Miguel. The lowest point of the pass was between Golden Hill and Contractors' Hill at an altitude of about 100 meters above sea level.

To destroy the rock, holes were drilled into which explosives were then placed. The crushed soil resulting from the explosions was extracted by steam excavators and loaded onto railcars for transportation to the dump site. The variety of construction equipment was much richer than during the “French” construction. The Americans used steam shovels, unloaders, spreaders, and track movers. The French only had excavators of much less power.

Steam shovel during construction of the Panama Canal

The soil was unloaded according to the following system: the unloader’s three-ton plow was placed on the last platform, and a cable ran from it to a winch located on the first platform. When activated, the winch began to pull the plow towards itself, unloading the train of 20 platforms in 10 minutes. One of these vehicles set a record for unloading, unloading 18 trains with a total length of over 5.5 km and a soil volume of 5,780 m³ in 8 hours. Twenty such unloaders with a staff of 120 people replaced the manual labor of 5,666 people.

Another invention during the construction of the Panama Canal was the spoiler. It was a railcar powered by compressed air, and on both sides there were dumps that changed the height if necessary. In the lower position, they covered several meters on each side of the railway track. As it moved forward, the spreader pushed and leveled the rock left by the unloader. This mechanism replaced 5-6 thousand workers.

The track mover was also invented during the construction of the canal, by the general manager of the construction in 1905-1907, William Bjord. A crane-like mechanism lifted an entire section of the railway, with rails and sleepers, and moved it in the required direction, more than two meters at a time. Considering that the tracks had to be constantly moved, following the progress of work, the importance of this invention could hardly be overestimated. Operated by 12 workers, this machine moved more than 1 km of track in a day, saving the labor of 600 workers.

Volumetric four-sided dump trucks from the company were also used to remove soil. Western and Oliver. Since the heavy clay stuck to the walls, the trolleys were used only to transport stones from the excavation to the Gatun Dam. Millions of cubic meters of excavated soil were used both for the Gatun Dam and to connect the islands of Naos, Perico, Culebra and Flamenco in Panama Bay to build a breakwater. The area between the mainland and Naos Island became particularly difficult - in this area the bottom was soft and tons of stones simply disappeared into it. One day the railway and piles were washed away by the sea, which required their re-construction. As a result, 10 times more material was spent on bulk work in this area than planned.

Start of construction of concrete structures

The excavated soil was used to fill 2 km² of the Pacific Ocean, creating an area for the construction of the city of Balboa and the military fort of Amador. The excavated soil was also used to build mounds in the jungle, the largest of which Tabernilla, contained over 10 million m³. The excavated soil was also used for the Gatun Dam. At the time of construction, the Gatun Dam on the Atlantic Ocean side was the largest dam, and the Gatun Lake formed by it was the largest artificial reservoir on Earth. There are two dams built on the Pacific side - the Miraflores Spillway and, built in the 1930s, the Madden Dam, higher up the Chagres River. After the completion of the Gatun Dam, the Chagres River valley, between Gamboa and Gatun, became Lake Gatun. After the completion of the Culebra Cut, the lake expanded to the Pedro Miguel Locks, across the Continental Divide.

From the beginning of construction to the present day, there remains a danger of earth landslides in the area of ​​the Culebra excavation. The first landslide occurred near Cucarachi on October 4, 1907, collapsing hundreds of cubic meters of earth into the excavation. Until now, the Cucarachi area is considered a particularly landslide-prone area.

In 1908, in addition to excavation work, it was necessary to move the Panama Railway, in connection with the future formation of Lake Gatun. About 64 km of the track were re-laid. Work on laying the railway ended on May 25, 1912, funding for the work amounted to about $9 million.

In 1913, the construction of three giant locks was completed; the walls of the lock chambers reached the height of a 6-story building. More than 1.5 million m³ of concrete were used for each series of locks: Gatun, Pedro Miguel and Miraflores.

On August 15, 1914, the first ship, the Cristobal, passed through the Panama Canal; it took the ship 9 hours to pass through the canal, and the distance saved was 8 thousand km. A landslide in 1914 prevented the canal from officially opening that year, so the official opening of the canal took place on June 12, 1920.

To strengthen the defense of the canal, the US government acquired the islands of Margarita, Perque, Naos, Culebra and Flamenco from Panama. For 25 million dollars, the islands of St. John, St. Croix and St. Thomas were purchased from Denmark, in 1928 the Corn (Corn) Islands were purchased from Nicaragua, and the islands of Roncador and Quitasueño were purchased from Colombia.

Channel modernization. 2009-2016.

A dredging vessel works to widen the Panama Canal in Paraiso, August 31, 2007.

In October 2006, a referendum was held in Panama on the expansion of the Panama Canal. The project received support from 79% of the population. The Chinese business structures that manage the channel had a great influence on the adoption of the plan. After modernization was completed in 2016, the canal was able to accommodate oil tankers with a displacement of more than 130 thousand tons. This made it possible to significantly reduce the distance for delivering Venezuelan oil to China. By that time, Venezuela planned to increase oil supplies to China to 1 million barrels per day.

In July 2008, the tender for the construction of the third group of locks was won by a consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal, the start of work is scheduled for August 25, 2009. According to the agreement, the cost of the work was to be 3.118 billion dollars, and by mid-2014, work to modernize the canal should be completed.

In October 2008, negotiations were held with global creditors to raise money for the expansion of the Panama Canal. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation expressed its readiness to allocate funds in the amount of $800 million; European Investment Bank - $500 million; Inter-American Development Bank - $400 million; Andean Development Corporation and International Finance Corporation - $300 million each.

First stage. year 2012.

After completion of work. 2017

Scheme

During the modernization, work was carried out to deepen the bottom and wider locks were built. Maximum throughput canal increased to 18.8 thousand vessels per year, cargo turnover increased to 1,700 million m³ of various cargoes per year. Vessels with a displacement of up to 170 thousand tons were able to pass through the canal. $5.25 billion was spent on reconstruction of the canal. More than 30 thousand workers were involved in the modernization of the canal, seven people died during the work. The planned profit to the Panama budget from the work of the canal is $2.5 billion per year, by 2025 the profit will increase to $4.3 billion.

The consecration ceremony of the new sluice gates took place on June 26, 2016. The commissioning ceremony for the new channel was attended by representatives from Taiwan, Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic. Panama President Juan Carlos Varela called the event significant for his country.

After the expansion of the channel to replace the standard Panamax, the standard has arrived Neopanamax, which includes ships with a deadweight of up to 120 thousand tons, which is 50% more than standard ships Panamax.

Story

Early 20th century

One of the first ships to transit the Panama Canal

During World War I, the Panama Canal was under heavy security. In 1916, construction of a submarine base began in Coco Solo, near the canal. In 1917, the base could already serve a significant number of submarines. Despite all the fears, German warships did not approach the canal and did not carry out any operations in its area.

Presidential elections were held in Panama in 1908, 1912 and 1918. Each time the elections were held under the supervision of the US military.

In 1917, the United States entered the First World War, following this event, Panama also declared war on Germany, but troops did not take part in the fighting.

In 1918, US troops occupied the city of Panama and the city of Colon “to maintain order,” and in 1918-1920 they occupied the province of Chirique.

In 1921, Costa Rica made territorial claims against Panama and attempted to occupy disputed territories on the Pacific coast under the pretext of an international arbitration decision in 1914. The United States intervened in the situation and Costa Rican army units left Panama.

In 1936, the US government signed a new treaty with Panama, which removed some restrictions on Panama's sovereignty and increased the annual rent for the canal.

The Second World War

By the mid-20th century, it became clear that a submarine base alone was not enough to guard the canal. The Secretary of the Navy appointed a commission to determine the site for a new base in the Virgin Islands.

In May 1941, three R-class submarines from the 32nd Division arrived at the St. Thomas base. In the autumn of the same year, several more boats of the 7th squadron, based in Coco Solo, arrived at the base. Three R-class submarines from the 32nd Boat Division arrived at the base at St. Thomas in May 1941, and in the fall several boats from the 7th Squadron, stationed at Coco Solo, arrived. After the United States entered World War II, all submarine operations around the Virgin Islands were carried out from the base on St. Thomas.

At the very beginning of World War II, several German submarines penetrated the coast of Mosquito Bay, and German submarines also operated in the Caribbean Sea.

In March 1942, boats from St. Thomas carried out reconnaissance and surveillance of the French cruiser Jeanne d'Arc, located in Guadeloupe and aircraft carrier Bearn, off the island of Martinique. The submarines were always in the area of ​​Martinique and Guadeloupe. The French authorities in the West Indies were loyal to the Vichy government and were under suspicion of connections with the Germans. After the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Vichy government, the latter promised that the ships would not leave their home bases. After this, surveillance of the French ships was stopped.

In the southern Caribbean, submarines from the Coco Solo base operated in the area of ​​the San Andrews Islands, Old Providence Island, and other islands north of Panama. Despite reports of sightings of German submarines, no contact with them was noted during patrols. Following an intelligence report that there were no German boats in the area, patrolling in the area ceased in September 1942.

After the attack of Japanese carrier-based aircraft on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Americans had to fight a war on two oceans and the question arose of protecting the Panama Canal from the Pacific Ocean. Submarine forces have organized a patrol line stretching 800 miles from Balboa. The boats went to sea for about a month, 22 days of which they spent directly in position. The security was organized in December 1941 and lasted until the end of 1942. During this time, not a single Japanese ship was discovered.

In the spring of 1942, construction began on the Balboa submarine base. Until this point, boats based in Coco Solo had to pass through the canal to conduct patrols in the Pacific Ocean. The establishment of the base would ensure a good supply of boats in the Pacific Ocean and would facilitate the creation of a training center for boat personnel for operations in the Pacific Ocean. Until the end of 1943, the base was never completed, but there was no point in speeding up construction - the situation remained calm. At the end of 1942, submarine operations in the Panama Canal area ceased. In the Caribbean Sea, American anti-submarine ships fought with German submarines. No Japanese submarines appeared from the Pacific Ocean. By this time, air and surface anti-submarine forces were already well organized, so German submarines appeared less and less often off the coast of America.

In August 1945, Japan developed a plan to bomb the Panama Canal, but this plan was never implemented.

Recent history

Panama Canal Locks

In 1955, the governments of Panama and the United States entered into a new treaty regarding the status of the United States in Panama, but the United States retained control of the canal zone.

In November 1959, a Panamanian demonstration was shot by US troops. Panamanians tried to raise the Panama flag in the Panama Canal area.

On January 9, 1964, US military personnel opened fire on a protest demonstration near the borders of the Panama Canal Zone, the event led to an increase in anti-American sentiment in Panama, and mass anti-American protests began among the population of Panama.

On September 7, 1977, an agreement was signed in Washington between Panamanian President Torrijos and US President John Carter The Panama Canal Treaty, according to which the United States must transfer control of the Panama Canal to the Government of Panama on December 31, 1999.

in 1984, in connection with the demand of the government of Panama, the United States closed the “School of the Americas” - a military educational enterprise in the Panama Canal Zone, where military and police personnel were trained for the countries of Central and Latin America.

On December 20, 1989, the US military operation against Panama began. According to official statements by the US government, the goals of the operation were to protect American citizens living in Panama, remove General Noriega and bring him to trial as the leader of the drug mafia. The decision to carry out Operation Right Cause Just Cause) adopted by US President George W. Bush, December 17-18, 1989. The operation began on December 20 at 2 a.m., and by the morning all the main points of resistance were suppressed, in some places there was still resistance, but by the morning of December 25 all the fighting was over.

The Panama Canal was controlled by the United States until December 31, 1999, after which it was transferred to the Panamanian government.

Since December 31, 1999, the canal has been operated by a Panamanian state-owned company - Autoridad del Canal de Panama. Thanks to the Panama Canal, new standard in shipbuilding - Panamax. This standard designates the maximum size of a vessel that can navigate the canal. The main users of the channel are the USA, China, Japan, South Korea and Chile. The majority of cargo transported is grain; the volume of transportation is lower for oil and petroleum products; the volume of container transportation is dynamically developing.

The cost of passage through the canal is $2.57 per net ton of a loaded vessel and $0.86 per ton of an empty one. Pre-registration is required to pass through the channel, but if desired, during the auction, you can purchase the right of priority passage through the channel. In May 2011 the liner Disney Magic acquired such a right for 331.2 thousand dollars.

Records

In February 2017, a record was set for daily trade turnover - 1.18 million tons of cargo passed through the canal. In December 2016 and January 2017, records were set for monthly trade turnover - 35.4 and 36.1 million tons were transported through the canal, respectively.

On May 24, 2017, a new record was set in the Panama Canal - for the first time in the history of the canal, a container ship passed through it OOCL France, with a cargo capacity of 13,208 TEU. On August 22, 2017, this record was broken by a container ship CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt, with a capacity of 14,855 TEU.

In 2006, for passage through the Panama Canal of a cruise ship Norwegian Star paid $208,653.16. A week after the completion of the canal reconstruction, in the summer of 2016, for the passage of a Hong Kong-flagged container ship Mol Benefactor 829.4 thousand US dollars were paid.

The smallest fee - $0.36 - was paid by adventurer Richard Halliburton, who swam across the canal through the locks in 1928.

International treaties related to the Panama Canal

1846

Historical map of the Nicaraguan and Panama Canal projects

In 1846, in the capital of New Grenada, Bogotá, a treaty of peace, friendship, navigation and trade was concluded between the United States and New Grenada. This treaty, in Article 35, separately stipulated the construction of an interoceanic transit route through the Isthmus of Panama. According to the treaty, the United States received equal rights with Grenada to operate this route, be it a canal or a railroad. In exchange for the sovereignty of New Grenada over the isthmus, the United States received a guarantee that this route would always be open to them. The American-Colombian Treaty was the first in a series of subsequent conventions in connection with various projects of the inter-oceanic route through Central America and the struggle of the United States with France and Great Britain on this issue. At the same time, Great Britain and France were negotiating with Nicaragua about the construction of such an interoceanic route.

1849

In 1849, a US representative, without having the authority of the government to do so, signed a convention in Guatemala with the government of Nicaragua, according to which the US received the exclusive right to build a transport route between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Along this route, the United States could build fortifications and maintain troops, and, if necessary, block the channel for enemy military and merchant ships.

However, fearing complications in relations with Great Britain, this treaty was not ratified in the United States. Great Britain also had plans to build a canal in Nicaragua under its control and took measures to gain control of ports that could become the final destinations of the future canal.

The Convention also contained a clause that similar rights could be granted to other states after concluding similar agreements with Nicaragua.

1850 - 1868

Topographic map of the Panama Canal Zone. 1923

Against the backdrop of growing tensions between the United States and Great Britain, in 1850, at the initiative of the United States, the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty was concluded. The agreement determined the international legal status of the future channel. It excluded the possibility of subordinating the channel to absolute control for each of the contracting states. The agreement provided for equal conditions for using the channel both for citizens of the USA and Great Britain, and for citizens of other states that signed the agreement.

In accordance with the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, the United States entered into an agreement with Nicaragua in 1867, under which it received the right of free transit, pledging, in turn, to protect the neutrality of the canal and the sovereignty of Nicaragua. A clause of identical content was included in the 1860 trade agreement between Nicaragua and Great Britain.

The main provisions of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty were repeated in agreements concluded with Nicaragua by Spain in 1850, France in 1859 and Italy in 1868.

1869-1870

In addition to the 1946 US-Columbia Treaty, in 1869 and 1870 the United States attempted to negotiate an agreement with Colombia, which emphasized that only US and Colombian warships could pass through the canal and that enemy ships should not be allowed into the canal.

1878 - 1883

Caricature dedicated to the French selling the channel to the Americans

In 1878, the Colombian government authorized the construction of the canal to a French joint-stock company under the direction of the engineer Lesseps, who had previously designed and built the Suez Canal. The signed concession provided for the neutrality of the canal, the free passage of merchant ships even during war, the unhindered passage of warships flying the US or Colombian flag at any time, and the restriction of the passage of warships of other countries during war. However, the passage of warships of other states could be carried out if an agreement was concluded with Colombia providing for such an action.

In the United States, fears arose that this would increase the influence of states outside mainland America on the Panama Canal, so in 1881, US ambassadors in London, Paris, Berlin and Vienna declared that the neutrality of the Panama Canal was ensured by the United States and any attempts to establish additional guarantees of such neutrality , will be viewed in the US as an unfriendly action.

In response, Britain reminded the US government of the provisions of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850. Then, diplomatic correspondence on this issue was carried out between these countries until 1883, but no results were achieved.

1899-1901

In 1888, the French community involved in the construction of the canal went bankrupt and construction ceased. After the war with Spain, the United States returned to the canal issue in 1899. Taking into account the experience of the past war, the United States believed that the channel should be under their absolute control. In 1900, the Anglo-American agreement on the Panama Canal was signed, but it was not ratified by the US Parliament. In 1901, the Gay-Pounsfoot Treaty was concluded, which received approval in the parliaments of the United States and Great Britain.

The signing of this treaty canceled the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty and recognized the right of the United States to build the canal, its operation and management, as well as to ensure security along the entire length of the canal. The right of passage for all merchant and military ships under any flag was also confirmed, but the order for the passage of ships in wartime was not included in the treaty.

1902 - 1904

Panama Canal

Panama Canal- a shipping canal connecting the Gulf of Panama of the Pacific Ocean with the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, located on the Isthmus of Panama in the territory of the state of Panama.

Length - 81.6 km, including 65.2 km on land and 16.4 km along the bottom of the Panama and Limon bays (for the passage of ships to deep water), overall width- 150 meters (the width of the lock chambers is 33 meters), depth - 12 meters. Officially opened on June 12, 1920.

Passage of ships through lock chambers. The gateways have two lanes, each 33.5 m wide. Lock chamber length 305 m

Although the canal officially opened in 1920, the first ship to pass through was the USS Ancona on August 15, 1914.

The construction of the Panama Canal was one of the largest and most complex construction projects undertaken by mankind. The Panama Canal had an invaluable influence on the development of shipping and the economy as a whole in the Western Hemisphere and throughout the world, which led to its extremely high geopolitical significance. Thanks to the Panama Canal, the sea route from New York to San Francisco was reduced from 22.5 thousand km to 9.5 thousand km.

The incredible complexity and scale of the project for that time is captured in a photo from 1912

The sea route from New York to San Francisco was reduced from 22.5 thousand km to 9.5 thousand km

The canal allows the most vessels to pass through it. different types- from private yachts to huge tankers and container ships. The maximum size of a ship that can transit the Panama Canal has become a de facto standard in shipbuilding, called Panamax.

The Panamax standard assumes maximum vessel dimensions of 965 feet (294.13 m) long, 106 feet (32.31 m) beam, and 39.5 feet (12.04 m) loading depth.

Vessels are guided through the Panama Canal by the Panama Canal Pilot Service. The average time for a vessel to pass through the canal is 9 hours, the minimum is 4 hours 10 minutes. Maximum throughput is 48 vessels per day. Every year, about 14 thousand ships carrying about 280 million tons of cargo pass through the canal structures. (5% of global ocean freight). The canal is overloaded, so the queue to pass through it is sold at auction. The total fee for a vessel's passage through the canal can reach $400,000. By 2002, more than 800 thousand vessels had already used the canal’s services.

In December 2010, the canal was closed to ships for the first time in 95 years due to bad weather and rising water levels as a result of incessant rainfall.

In July 2014, the final route of the Nicaraguan Canal was announced, corresponding in width and depth to the parameters of modern ships and designed to become an alternative to the Panama Canal.

Proposed Nicaraguan Canal routes. The canal under construction will run along the green line

From ancient times to the present day, many waterways - artificial canals - have been created in the world. The main tasks of such artificial ones are to facilitate the passage of the waterway and reduce the distance. The most famous canals are the Panama and Suez canals.

The Panama Canal is an artificial waterway on the territory of Panama, crossing the Isthmus of Panama in its lowest part and connecting the Atlantic and. This is one of the most important transport waterways of international importance. The Panama Canal is considered a true marvel of engineering. One of its channels has the highest throughput in the world.

The canal stretches 50 miles from Panama (on the coast Pacific Ocean) to Colon (on the Atlantic coast). It supports the passage of over 12,000 ocean-going ships per year.

History of the Panama Canal

The discoverer of Panama, who took the first step on its land, was the Spaniard Rodrigo de Bastidas. He ended up here in 1501. On the same ship, Vasco Nunez de Balboa sailed with a group of settlers who remained in Panama.

The possibility of building a canal through Central America was mentioned already in 1550 by Antonio Galvao. He argued that this canal would significantly facilitate the passage between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. He considered the Darien Isthmus a suitable place for this - a narrow, 48-kilometer strip between Central and. , which at that time owned the American colonies, considered this proposal unprofitable, since it could undermine the country’s monopoly on land routes in these areas.

The greatest interest in this idea arose during the California Gold Rush (1848). In 1850, both countries (both countries claimed ownership of the canal) concluded the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, according to which the parties refused to acquire exclusive rights to the future canal and pledged to guarantee its neutrality. According to this treaty, both countries temporarily stopped seizing new territories around Panama. The future canal was declared open to everyone who wished to join its construction.

However, despite all the preparations, the canal began to be built, since the USA and Great Britain were not interested in cooperation, each of these countries counted only on personal ownership. I took advantage of this.

In 1878, France received a 99-year concession for the construction of the canal from, which it was part of until 1903.

In 1879, the General Interoceanic Canal Company was created under the leadership of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the builder of the Suez Waterway. Two years later, work began on its construction.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the canal took place on January 1, 1880 at the mouth. It passed under the French flag. However, in 1886 work was stopped. The difficulties seemed insurmountable. The rocky ground was incredibly hard, and the workers began to die one after another. The construction site became notorious, to the point that some groups of workers brought their own coffins with them from France. Epidemics of malaria and plague raged in the construction area. There is evidence that about 20,000 people died there.

The company went bankrupt in 1887 due to high prices, financial scams and high worker mortality. In addition, in France, thousands of shareholders were completely ruined. In May 1891, a trial took place against the owners of the company. It turned out that many officials were systematically bribed. A huge scandal broke out. The head of the company, Fernand de Lossepsa, received a 5-year prison sentence.

Work on the construction of the canal was suspended until 1905. 3 years earlier, in 1902, a new agreement was concluded between Hay and Pounceforth, which annulled the previous agreement. The French company was afraid of losing all its investments if the canal was built through and sold to the United States all rights and its property in Panama for $40 million. Thus, the United States actually received a monopoly on the construction of the canal.

On November 3, 1903, Panama announced its secession from Colombia and declared its independence. In the same year, an agreement was signed between the United States and Panama, according to which all rights to use the future canal were transferred to the States for an “indefinite period”; in return, the Americans transferred to Panama those located in the canal zone (Perico, Naos, Culebra, Flamenco)

In 1905, an expert council appointed by President Roosevelt recommended building a lockless canal, but Congress, taking into account the mistakes of French construction, adopted a project with locks. The work on building the canal included many elements. It was necessary not only to lay the waterway itself, but also to build ports at both ends, as well as build breakwaters, dams, locks, etc. Much of the road between Colon and Panama City also had to be rebuilt.

At first, the work was carried out under the direction of civil engineers, but from 1907 the construction was taken over by the War Ministry. The French, who began construction, excavated 23 million cubic meters of earth along the canal route; North Americans still had 208 million left to take out.

Construction, with interruptions, lasted almost 40 years. The first ship passed through the Isthmus of Panama on August 15, 1914, but the discovery went unnoticed by the whole world as World War I was in progress. The canal began to operate at full capacity after the official opening on June 12, 1920. According to government sources, the construction of the canal cost $380 million.

In 1935, the volume was increased by the construction of the Madden Dam in the upper reaches of Chagres, which led to the appearance of the lake.

Over the years, Panama continued to lobby the United States to repeal certain provisions of the treaty. In the end, the States relented. The US administration ceased to manage the Panama Canal, this happened on December 31, 1999, management passed to the Panamanian administration Autoridad del Canal de Panama (ACP).

Features of the Panama Canal

The length of the canal is 82.4 kilometers. Contrary to the general impression, it does not go in a straight line from east to west, but bends. This is due to the geography of the Isthmus of Panama. The canal heads southeast from Colon to , ending near Panama City on the Pacific Ocean.

From the huge breakwaters in Limon Bay, ships go to three Gatun locks, where they are raised to a height of 26 meters to the artificial Lake Gatun. Behind this lake, on a canal 150 meters wide, there are other locks. There, ships descend first 9 and then 16.5 meters to sea level and enter the Pacific port, protected by giant breakwaters.

The length of the Panama Canal is 81.6 km, including 65.2 km on land and 16.4 km along the bottom of the Panama and Limon bays.

All gateways are double-sided. They are 305 meters high and 34 meters wide, and they are designed so that ships coming from opposite directions can sail past each other. The thickness of the huge steel gates of these gateways is 2.1 meters, and the height is up to 25 meters. Small diesel engines, moving along the walls, slowly guide the ship through the lock. Typically six such machines are required per vessel.

The transit time for ships through the Panama Canal is 7-8 hours, the minimum is 4 hours. The average throughput is 36 vessels, the maximum is 48 vessels per day.

Panama Canal now

The channel is constantly being improved. To achieve this, the Autoridad del Canal de Panama (ACP) currently employs more than 9,000 workers.

There is an investment program that provides for more than a billion dollars of investment for the reconstruction and renewal of the canal. It is planned to purchase additional locomotives for towing ships through the locks, as well as to replace the old lock gates with more modern ones, with a built-in system for monitoring the condition of the gates.

In 2004, work was completed to expand the Panama Canal. The narrowest section at 13 km, called the Gaillard Cut, has increased by approximately 40 meters. Now two ships can pass through this place at the same time. As a result, channel capacity is expected to increase by 20%. The construction of three new dams for new lakes is planned soon, which will increase the amount of water in the canal, as well as create a new source of drinking water and hydroelectric energy for the country.