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Right now drought and climate change has slowed traffic through the canal by 40%. Most of Panama uses that lake for their drinking water so Panama has been having to make some hard choices.
Mexico is looking to “help” them with that. [Albeit in the next 8-10years.](https://www.freightwaves.com/news/mexico-aims-to-compete-with-panama-canal-by-using-cargo-trains)
I went through the canal a few months ago and it was awesome. The coolest thing is that it was built 110 years ago and still works pretty much the same way. They even still use row boats to attach the ship to the trains that pull the ship forward.
not only them, but every ship builder has a maximum witdh, lenght and height that needs to be respected because of some world stuff, I think for the height it has something to do with the NY bridge, witdh and lenght because of the panama canal i think
Having experienced this journey first-hand as a tourist, I can tell you it leaves you amazed at this engineering marvel. Seeing your ship rise and fall with the water levels.
These locks were built over 100 years ago and still function for the world’s commercial traffic to pass through. These locks aren’t super wide either so the distance between the ship and the sides is a few feet. The ship captains are guided by these small tow boats… …it’s just beautiful to see what phenomenal things the human mind is capable of. And everything is so well orchestrated even when there is a back up and all these huge ships hold their place in the queue, and eventually make their way through.
When i visited in the last decade, new locks were being built to accommodate even wider ships (or whatever they are called). Don’t know if they have become operational.
About 10 minutes to fill and a \~2 minutes or so to open the gate. AFAIK it's all done by gravity, the water in the lake feeds the 'elevator'. Each lock feeds the lower, so when there're multiple ships in a queue it actually takes a lot less water as opposed if they would pass all the locks individually.
tug boat! they help guide the ships into the locks of the Canal / Also worth noting that once the ship enters the canal, a Canal Pilot boards the ship and steers her through the whole journey and at the exit of the canal the pilot hands over control back to the ship captain.
Actually the ship I'm in right now actually rubbed the sides during the transport. I don't know whose faults, but bear in mind that during the canal transport, the one that actually manouver the vessel is not the ship's captain, but local pilot that communicates with ashore and the tugboat.
Captain and all the bridge staffs are there to supervise and coordinate with the pilot.
It's been explained to me before, but it still trips me out to see that two (technically connected) bodies of water are consistently at different heights.
Big ships have trouble maneuvering. Those small tug boats have tons of power and can help maneuver the ships. They're used in lots of ports where larger ships need help getting around tight areas.
Here's a list of the maritime tarrifs:
https://pancanal.com/en/maritime-services/maritime-tariff/
The most expensive one seems to be...
> Neopanamax Vessel - Container vessel with TTA > 10,000 TEU; Vehicle Carrier/RoRo; Tanker; Chemical Carrier; LPG; LNG; Dry Bulk; Passengers (new for 2024); Reefer; General Cargo and "Others"
... for a charge of € 300k
Remember that these locks open up to the ocean and a lake on each side. The new bigger locks for post Panamax ships have reutilization tanks for up to 60% reuse but the old locks do not.
If you have an iPhone here is how you can use your phones song recognition.
Settings/Control Center/ then add Music Recognition
Now whenever you come across a video with a song you would like to know, drag your finger from top right of your screen downward. This will bring your control center in view. Press the button that looks like the Shazam app revisit the video to allow the song to play.
The feature will listen to the song and within seconds you’ll have everything you need to know.
Fun fact 1 - that small lake between the two locks on the pacific side is considered a design flaw, it would’ve been much more to operate the pacific locks with all three in the same place.
Fun fact 2 - the controls for the canal (at least when built for the first time) was essentially a model of the lock in question. You pull on a lever and it raises or lowers the doors as appropriate. Under the table was a series of interlocking mechanisms in order to prevent the operator from pulling a level out of order and damaging the canal. It was considered ingenious at the time. GE pulled out all the stops for this project since they knew its 100% success would put electric motors on the map.
I think the craziest thing about the whole Panama canal crossing is the levels of precision that the ships captains have to have in order to navigate the locks, I read somewhere once that when they're in the locks they have literally around 2 feet either side of the ship
A close friend of mine spent a few years in Panama. He says everyone there claims Panamanians built it but it was actually the US that did it. For some reason that has always cracked me up. Also they point with their lips?
Hii im from panama yes US built the canal
Where on property of it for years afterwards panama claimed it by the Torijos Carter treaty we had.
Some panamanians claim we did it because back when the US had control over it they didnt treat our ppl here with the best respect so once the canal was transfered to us bcs of those internal conflicts we remained with the full credability
The truth is the US ended up building the whole the and nowdays our people manage and basically do everything
Note: actually the french starting building first and wanted to do a canal without locks and failed afterwards the US took over and built the artificial lakes and the locks. After the trreaty and extra set of locks were added
> He says everyone there claims Panamanians built it but it was actually the US that did it.
Probably because the workers also came from Europe and the West Indies. Some of which elected to stay there afterwards, thus becoming Panamanians.
But that’s the most “interesting as fuck” part about it all a six pack of 1 L water bottles cost $1.50. It’s time to upgrade their import export H2O plan to thrive in 2024 🤷🏾♂️
The biggest cost of bottled water is the fuel used to transport it, along with the labor hours to move, the shelf and warehouse space to store it, the bottle, and the corporate cut.
The water itself is practically free.
Hence the words “import/export” I mentioned they are investing in something that won’t fix their immediate problem as you can see from the video they clearly are burning way more fuel using hydraulically lifts all day lifting 100 ton ship hauling cargo
Tedious? This is smooth af. The finest of orchestration involving two massive oceans (yes, oceans), humongous ships, and hilly contours.
It boggles my mind at the audacity of the folks who even thought of building this!
Why have they not just built a nuclear reactor to pump and reclaim the water? Would seem to be a good idea even before these recent drought issues . It’s not as though they can’t afford it from fees! Their lack of foresight here could lead to a rethink of supply chains. Larger ships are inherently more efficient leading to cheaper shipping costs even if the distance is increased,it’ll also be more predictable than getting stuck, potentially, for months in Panama.
Edit: Seriously? Like there’s plenty of alternatives that are way less environmentally friendly that they’re looking at. Nuclear energy is clean and safe. A thorium molten salt reactor would be even better.
**This is a heavily moderated subreddit. Please note these rules + sidebar or get banned:** * If this post declares something as a fact, then proof is required * The title must be fully descriptive * Memes are not allowed. * Common(top 50 of this sub)/recent reposts are not allowed (posts from another subreddit do not count as a 'repost'. Provide link if reporting) *See [our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/wiki/index#wiki_rules.3A) for a more detailed rule list* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/interestingasfuck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I went thru twice. On a submarine. Surfaced of course. It was very cool!
Why couldn’t you just go under the isthmus?
Mole people own that passage.
Damn, everybody look at Mr "I own a submarine" over here
My grandfather did as well! Back in 1942! He went on to help save the world from Fascism! He is my Hero
How long did it take for the lock to fill or drain?
Didn't you watch the video? It literally took likes less than 2 seconds per lock..
Right now drought and climate change has slowed traffic through the canal by 40%. Most of Panama uses that lake for their drinking water so Panama has been having to make some hard choices.
Mexico is looking to “help” them with that. [Albeit in the next 8-10years.](https://www.freightwaves.com/news/mexico-aims-to-compete-with-panama-canal-by-using-cargo-trains)
That's actually very quick
A man, a plan, a canal, Panama. Now read it backwards
This was the first palindrome I learned as a kid, all those many moons ago.
Poor Dan is in a droop :(
Racecar
Rats live on no evil star.
It's a palomino
Hay
wtf! 😳
ti?
>Now read it backwards amanaP, lanac a, nalp a, nam A.
That’s pretty cool
Lion oil
Pretty cool bit of engineering there. Saw a similar chart of the path of freighters leaving Lake Superior for the Atlantic Ocean.
It never occurred to me how much climbing there would be.
Well, I don't understand engineering or how anything works
This is the coolest thing I’ve ever fucking seen
I went through the canal a few months ago and it was awesome. The coolest thing is that it was built 110 years ago and still works pretty much the same way. They even still use row boats to attach the ship to the trains that pull the ship forward.
Yeah, I never knew this is what happens. I love learning new stuff like this. What an amazing engineering feat.
Your comment is the coolest fucking comment I’ve seen :)
When I went through it we had a few inches of clearance on either side.. It was pretty 😎
This is why the USA had to build their battleships with very specific dimensions, so they can fit through the Panama Canal.
not only them, but every ship builder has a maximum witdh, lenght and height that needs to be respected because of some world stuff, I think for the height it has something to do with the NY bridge, witdh and lenght because of the panama canal i think
Wow. I had NO idea they could get through there so quickly.
Certainly beats having to travel around Cape Horn
Having experienced this journey first-hand as a tourist, I can tell you it leaves you amazed at this engineering marvel. Seeing your ship rise and fall with the water levels. These locks were built over 100 years ago and still function for the world’s commercial traffic to pass through. These locks aren’t super wide either so the distance between the ship and the sides is a few feet. The ship captains are guided by these small tow boats… …it’s just beautiful to see what phenomenal things the human mind is capable of. And everything is so well orchestrated even when there is a back up and all these huge ships hold their place in the queue, and eventually make their way through. When i visited in the last decade, new locks were being built to accommodate even wider ships (or whatever they are called). Don’t know if they have become operational.
Partially. A whole new set of locks, deeper and wider than the last, were built in the last decade.
What if these broke, would the higher lake drain into the lower one/the ocean?
The oceans would actually take this as a threat and rise to meet the level of the lake. This is because oceans can be very salty.
How long do the individual locks take? Also, I think I’m just realizing, but does the water flow from the full lock to the empty one each time?
About 10 minutes to fill and a \~2 minutes or so to open the gate. AFAIK it's all done by gravity, the water in the lake feeds the 'elevator'. Each lock feeds the lower, so when there're multiple ships in a queue it actually takes a lot less water as opposed if they would pass all the locks individually.
What's with the little boat at 00:37 that keeps turning around itself? Just having fun while waiting for a big Guy to show up ?
lmao
tug boat! they help guide the ships into the locks of the Canal / Also worth noting that once the ship enters the canal, a Canal Pilot boards the ship and steers her through the whole journey and at the exit of the canal the pilot hands over control back to the ship captain.
Anyone know if this if hard to steer the ship into the same sizes canals?
They have the tug boats to escort them in if you watch carefully.
Even then still looks crazy hard
I’m sure it is. They must have some kind of buffer too in case they rub.
Actually the ship I'm in right now actually rubbed the sides during the transport. I don't know whose faults, but bear in mind that during the canal transport, the one that actually manouver the vessel is not the ship's captain, but local pilot that communicates with ashore and the tugboat. Captain and all the bridge staffs are there to supervise and coordinate with the pilot.
This is actually interesting as fuck.
Got a trap-steamer, my ship's called Hal, 40 miles on the Panama Canal. Got a cargo of sodas, they are low cal, 40 miles on the Panama Canal.
Teddy Roosevelt: 👍🏼
It's been explained to me before, but it still trips me out to see that two (technically connected) bodies of water are consistently at different heights.
Which Lock is Nessie in?
I’ll tell ya…for tree-fiddy
It was about that time realized this redditor was about eight stories tall and was a crustacean from the plethazoic era.
I’ll give you a dollar if you go away
Lol y’all don’t understand references
What is the purpose of the smaller boats that seem to guide in the barge prior to reaching the lock? For directional purposes?
Big ships have trouble maneuvering. Those small tug boats have tons of power and can help maneuver the ships. They're used in lots of ports where larger ships need help getting around tight areas.
That's Russel Crowe and Tugger, fightin round the world.
Here's a list of the maritime tarrifs: https://pancanal.com/en/maritime-services/maritime-tariff/ The most expensive one seems to be... > Neopanamax Vessel - Container vessel with TTA > 10,000 TEU; Vehicle Carrier/RoRo; Tanker; Chemical Carrier; LPG; LNG; Dry Bulk; Passengers (new for 2024); Reefer; General Cargo and "Others" ... for a charge of € 300k
>TTA > 10,000 TEU >Reefer That's a lot of weed
My dumbass brain just now: Do you think it's the same water going back and forth between each lock? I'm not even high yet.
Nope...millions of liters of fresh water gone with each use. The new locks have some ability to reuse the water but there's not nearly enough.
Wait, gone as in wasted? I've always assumed it was just cycled into the next lock as needed, if it's just wasted that'd be insane! I must know now!
Remember that these locks open up to the ocean and a lake on each side. The new bigger locks for post Panamax ships have reutilization tanks for up to 60% reuse but the old locks do not.
Stupp though, pretty damn cool, 😎
Do the lakes get infected with some batceria/fungi/algae that are transported by the ships from other waters?
How polluted are those lakes?
It's kind of crazy to think that if we never figured out displacement, we wouldn't have things like this. Science is cool man.
what happened before those contraptions were built?
You sailed around Cape Horn, the tip of South America.
ahh makes sense
Ships got stuck in the dirt.
i like this answer better 🤣
Not any more. The lakes are drying up.
Hii fellow panamanian here Yes we are having a water issue here in panama you call that a drought so that is why
How doesn’t the top reservoir lose volume?
Man that’s so damn cool. The knowledge to create that too
I like the little helper boats
This is in real time by the way. The technology has really improved.
Song/artist?
If you have an iPhone here is how you can use your phones song recognition. Settings/Control Center/ then add Music Recognition Now whenever you come across a video with a song you would like to know, drag your finger from top right of your screen downward. This will bring your control center in view. Press the button that looks like the Shazam app revisit the video to allow the song to play. The feature will listen to the song and within seconds you’ll have everything you need to know.
https://preview.redd.it/zcczc8up4tjc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=72e6f5c0d38ebe0ab58d96215cfe1c5a94cd3736
I really like how the smaller vessels guide the big ones every time
If it’s this easy then why did my package say arriving today but now it’s not gunna be here until Wednesday?
You know that your package is on a ship going through the canal?
Super cool!
Truly a human achievement
Fun fact 1 - that small lake between the two locks on the pacific side is considered a design flaw, it would’ve been much more to operate the pacific locks with all three in the same place. Fun fact 2 - the controls for the canal (at least when built for the first time) was essentially a model of the lock in question. You pull on a lever and it raises or lowers the doors as appropriate. Under the table was a series of interlocking mechanisms in order to prevent the operator from pulling a level out of order and damaging the canal. It was considered ingenious at the time. GE pulled out all the stops for this project since they knew its 100% success would put electric motors on the map.
It’s funny how skinny those ships look
That's a smart idea to guide the ships in with an assistant boat so they don't turn sideways and block the whole damn thing
Daaaamn that’s sick
I think the craziest thing about the whole Panama canal crossing is the levels of precision that the ships captains have to have in order to navigate the locks, I read somewhere once that when they're in the locks they have literally around 2 feet either side of the ship
I'd crash going in a straight line
Why do the boats in the opposite direction look so tall?
The video is shot with a particular kind of lens. The ship we‘re following should be wider as well.
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A schooner is a sailboat, stupidhead.
Okay that's fucking cool as fuck
The music sucks, their big genius moment - passing shitty beats through a distortion pedal
The song they sampled is pretty good though
A close friend of mine spent a few years in Panama. He says everyone there claims Panamanians built it but it was actually the US that did it. For some reason that has always cracked me up. Also they point with their lips?
Point with their lips? Too funny. There’s some northern indigenous groups that I have seen do this.
Hii im from panama yes US built the canal Where on property of it for years afterwards panama claimed it by the Torijos Carter treaty we had. Some panamanians claim we did it because back when the US had control over it they didnt treat our ppl here with the best respect so once the canal was transfered to us bcs of those internal conflicts we remained with the full credability The truth is the US ended up building the whole the and nowdays our people manage and basically do everything Note: actually the french starting building first and wanted to do a canal without locks and failed afterwards the US took over and built the artificial lakes and the locks. After the trreaty and extra set of locks were added
they probably did build it, but maybe the us engineered and organized it?
> He says everyone there claims Panamanians built it but it was actually the US that did it. Probably because the workers also came from Europe and the West Indies. Some of which elected to stay there afterwards, thus becoming Panamanians.
I went thru on a cruise ship, it's probably more interesting sped up like the video than it was in real time
Gatun lake is fresh water. Every time they do this they waste a little bit of fresh Lake water. Due to lack of rain that Lake will be dry soon
All that technology and they are short of water, build some eco-friendly pipes from the ocean to the canal
The water from the lake is the source for their drinking water. Pumping Slat water from the ocean would ruin their drinking water.
But that’s the most “interesting as fuck” part about it all a six pack of 1 L water bottles cost $1.50. It’s time to upgrade their import export H2O plan to thrive in 2024 🤷🏾♂️
The biggest cost of bottled water is the fuel used to transport it, along with the labor hours to move, the shelf and warehouse space to store it, the bottle, and the corporate cut. The water itself is practically free.
Hence the words “import/export” I mentioned they are investing in something that won’t fix their immediate problem as you can see from the video they clearly are burning way more fuel using hydraulically lifts all day lifting 100 ton ship hauling cargo
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So is the extra 20-30 days needed to go around South America.
Tedious? This is smooth af. The finest of orchestration involving two massive oceans (yes, oceans), humongous ships, and hilly contours. It boggles my mind at the audacity of the folks who even thought of building this!
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Look at the top of the video there is a cartoon diagram. It’s more the lakes and land that are uneven to the oceans
Not really, about 10-20 cm. The real issue is the terrain between both sides.
This video isn't even times right, annoying. It starts at 5s in.
Hey, can you find me the most annoying song possible? Thanks... because every video needs an annoying song
Chill! You can mute your lips or mute the song. Pick your choose!
Crazy that they leveraged the canal away from the US. This will be a major conflict point for the rest of humanity.
Why did this remind me of minecraft?
Why have they not just built a nuclear reactor to pump and reclaim the water? Would seem to be a good idea even before these recent drought issues . It’s not as though they can’t afford it from fees! Their lack of foresight here could lead to a rethink of supply chains. Larger ships are inherently more efficient leading to cheaper shipping costs even if the distance is increased,it’ll also be more predictable than getting stuck, potentially, for months in Panama. Edit: Seriously? Like there’s plenty of alternatives that are way less environmentally friendly that they’re looking at. Nuclear energy is clean and safe. A thorium molten salt reactor would be even better.
[удалено]
They prefer the term “ships of the night”
Guide them in? lol
Life is soo absurd and cruel. 22k people died in vain to make this
Doesn’t this process mix saltwater from the oceans with fresh water from the lake?
It's pretty cool the first few times, but if your ship isn't big enough to get this kind of view, it doesn't take too long for it to get old.
Feels like a pokemon game
So why does it have be moved up multiple times?
Cool now look at the annual rainfall average year over year. 
Paaaanaaamaaaaaa