Posted on 08/26/2023 3:53:29 AM PDT by FarCenter
Panama City (AFP) – The drought-hit Panama Canal will maintain restrictions on the passage of ships for one year, a measure that has already led to a marine traffic jam as boats line up to enter the waterway linking two oceans.
The canal is facing a shortage of rainwater needed to transfer ships through locks that function like water elevators, an engineering marvel that moves six percent of the world's maritime commerce up and over the isthmus between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
The canal's sub-administrator Ilya Espino, told AFP that unless heavy rains fall in the next three months, "we are looking at a period of one year" of restricted access.
That period will give clients "a year to plan" how to adapt, she said late Thursday.
Each ship moving through the canal requires 200 million liters of freshwater to move it through the locks, provided by two artificial lakes fed by rainfall in a surrounding watershed. The lakes also supply drinking water to half the country of about 4.2 million people.
However, Panama is facing a biting drought, made worse by the El Nino warming phenomenon, which has forced canal administrators to restrict the waterway to ships with a maximum draft (water depth) of 13.11 meters (43 feet).
In 2022, an average of 40 ships crossed through the canal a day, a number which has now dropped to 32 to save water.
(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...
How long does it take to sail from Panama around "the Horn" to the other side?
And all this time I believed there was an Ocean on both sides of the canal.
That would entail installing pumps. There is not a single pump in the entire Panama Canal system, it is all gravity-fed.
Nicaragua was the site for the nuke idea, with Soviet help. 1970s discussion.
Correct. It’s still for the most part a 1903 operation except for for the trains to pull the ships into place. New lock might be different.
A couple of desalination plants would cure the problem.
All part of the WEF Great Reset.
In what world does pumping ocean water into freshwater reservoirs make any sense?
_______________________
The reservoir was built to operate the locks. The reservoir already has salt water in it because of the action of the locks. The reservoir operates like a huge water tank used in towns around the Country where water is pumped up the tower to fill the tank in off-peak times so there is plenty of supply and pressure during high-use periods. Normally fresh water from mountains is dammed-up in the reservoir and is sufficient to operate the locks. Any salt water in the reservoir will get flushed out to sea in peak rain seasons. https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/86pxr8/is_the_water_in_the_panama_canal_saltwater_or/
No one from Panama would pay for it.
Maybe I’m confused. The article says the locks are fed by water from “artificial lakes” that also supply drinking water to the surrounding area.
***across Panama using nuclear explosives? ***
I believe the original plan was to go across Nicaragua, but fear of a volcano stopped it.
Just a warning that prices will be going up, on all goods/merchandise coming thru the Canal, and soon, that which would have come thru the Canal.
Yes it was expanded under the Chinese and they were warned that this may happen if I recall..
Also wondering about all the cruise ships.
Heh... the companies will be selling a “slightly longer” cruise; pack accordingly.
During the Plowshare program, we set off the Sedan test at Nevada Test Site to demonstrate the feasibility. It worked. The Russians did the same and actually set off several nukes to test it, but it was deemed “impractical” because of the radiation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pechora–Kama_Canal
I guess I’m stupid. 8” elevation difference or not it’s connected to an OCEAN on both sides. How can it be affected by drought?
The lack of rain is an effect of El Nino, the same weather phenomena that has produced excessive heat in the U.S. Southwest and a hurricane hitting California. A year from now, the rain situation in Panama should return to normal.
My understanding is that the original lock builders forecasted that the canal could not have been built much bigger from the beginning due to the rainfall limitation of the lakes feeding the locks.
RE: The locals just might have objected?
Locals in any country are merely afterthought peasants barely noticed by the global elites.
Let them write an email to the United Nations. After all, the UN has prevented all wars and conflicts since its charter was signed.
Oh, wait....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.