Page 53 - 2025 - Q1 - Minerva in Focus

MINERVA IN FOCUS Interesting Fact

Photo credit: Panama between the East and West coasts of the Americas locks called the Neo-Panamax locks. This allows
Canal Authority (ACP) by over 8,000 nautical miles. Ships could now much larger ships to pass through – vessels that
move between oceans in under a day, compared would have been too big for the original locks.
to weeks or months before. The canal quickly
became one of the most important trade routes Legacy and meaning today
in the world. The Panama Canal is more than just a shortcut.
Today, about 13,000 to 14,000 ships pass through It’s a symbol of human effort, international co-
the Panama Canal each year. It connects more operation, and strategic power. For Panama, it
than 180 maritime routes and links trade between represents independence and national pride. For
170 countries. For seafarers, it remains one of the the global maritime community, it continues to be
most significant chokepoints in global shipping. a vital lifeline that keeps trade moving.
To seafarers passing through the canal today, it’s
From US control to Panamanian pride easy to focus on schedules and ship handling, but
Although the US built and operated the canal for it’s worth remembering the incredible history beneath
many decades, control of the canal eventually the hull. The waters of the Panama Canal carry not
shifted to Panama. In 1977, the Torrijos-Carter just cargo but over a century of global connection.
Treaties laid out the steps for this transfer. On 31
December 1999, the canal became fully Pana- Sources:
manian-run. Office of the Historian, Foreign
Since then, the Panama Canal Authority has man- Service Institute - United
aged the waterway. In 2016, they completed a States Department of State,
massive expansion project, adding a new set of Panama Canal Authority

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