Panama Canal Cruises and Information.

Panama Canal Statistics

A large volume of the world’s ships, cargo, and passengers travel through the canal every year. In 1996 more than 15,000 ships, about 42 per day, made the crossing. From 1985 to 1995 the number of ships, their tonnage, and the amount of tolls collected all increased. Tolls rose to $460 million in 1995, a 50 percent increase over 1985 figures. About 14,000 ships, 400,000 crew members, and 300,000 passengers traveled through the canal in 1995.

PANAMA CANAL PICTURES Cross sections How it works MAP OF PANAMA

A wide variety of general cargo vessels and specialized ships pass through the canal. The most common are bulk carriers for ore, grain, and liquids; automobile carriers; container ships; refrigerated ships; tankers; liquid-gas carriers; and passenger liners. Many naval vessels, fishing boats, barges, dredges, floating drydocks, and ocean-going tugs also use the canal.

The principal commodities shipped through the canal in 1993 were canned and refrigerated foods, chemicals, coal and coke, grains, lumber and wood products, machinery and equipment (including automobiles), iron and steel products, minerals, ores and metals, agricultural commodities, and petroleum and by-products. The single largest commodity was grain, mostly being shipped from the U.S. Gulf Coast region to Asia. Another important group was automobiles: About half of the cars shipped from Asia to the United States went through the canal in the mid-1990s.

The size of ships using the Panama Canal has steadily increased. About 27 percent of the vessels that use the canal are built to the maximum dimensions that can pass through it (a category called “Panamax”). This has prompted further widening of Gaillard Cut, so that the larger Panamax vessels may transit safely. However, some of the world’s commercial and military ships are too large for the canal. Since the 1940s, new U.S. battleships and aircraft carriers have been built exceeding the canal’s dimensions; so have some petroleum supertankers, huge container ships, and ore carriers. Despite this trend, planners anticipate steadily increasing demand for use of the canal for the next 20 years.

The Panama Canal was built in part for military reasons, to give the U.S. Navy rapid access to both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Many U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force bases were built in the canal zone to defend the vital channel. However, since World War II (1939-1945) the canal has been considered vulnerable to attack. A single bomb or a scuttled ship could disrupt canal traffic for a long period, and the jungles along the canal could be used by guerrilla forces. Therefore, the canal was considered less valuable as a military asset. The nearby bases, while continuing to guard the canal, became a center for U.S. military operations throughout Central America and the Caribbean. The headquarters for the U.S. military’s Southern Command was relocated from bases in Panama to Florida in 1997. All U.S. military bases in Panama were closed before the end of 1999.

Cruise Agency Specializing in Cruises through the Panama Canal.

Panama Canal cruises have become one of the most popular ways to visit the Panama Canal. Cruises feature great food, entertainment, interesting ports of call and fascinating tours of canal and history leading up to its completion. There are a number of different cruises and itineraries for the Panama Canal offered by most of the major lines.

• Carnival Cruises

• Princess Cruises

• Norwegian Cruises

  Panama Canal Cruises