Disney Vessel Becomes First Cruise Ship through New Panama Canal Locks

By Mark Edward Nero

Last weekend marked a milestone for the cruise industry when the Disney Wonder, transited the Panama Canal as the first passenger vessel to go through the canal’s new set of locks.

The Disney Wonder’s Panama Canal crossing, which took place April 29, was part of a 14-night voyage from Port Canaveral, Fla., to San Diego, Calif. The ship entered the Panama Canal from the Atlantic Ocean, beginning its journey at the new Agua Clara Locks.

From there, it headed south through Gatun Lake and the Culebra Cut, passing through the new Cocoli Locks and under the Bridge of Americas before exiting to the Pacific Ocean.

Before and after Disney’s summer season in Alaska, the Disney Wonder is expected to sail from San Diego to Baja, Calif., and the Mexican Riviera.

The ship departs the West Coast on October 27 and should pass through the Panama Canal again to begin Disney’s Halloween on the High Seas cruises from Galveston, Texas.

The $5.4 billion expansion of the Panama Canal, which started in the fall of 2007, officially opened to traffic in June 2016. The new set of locks feature sliding gates, doubled for safety. Each chamber measures 1,400 feet long, 180 feet wide, and 60 feet deep allowing vessels with a beam of up to 160 feet, an overall length of up to 1,200 feet and a draft of up to 49 feet.

The Disney Wonder has an overall length of 964 feet, a width of 106 feet, and a draft of 25.3 feet.

A video of the Disney Wonder transiting the locks can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB9s9gKtUxQ

New Panama Canal Locks Tested

By Mark Edward Nero

The Panama Canal has announced that Grupo Unidos por el Canal, the consortium responsible for the design and construction of the Third Set of Locks Project, has successfully completed testing of the reinforcements in sill no. 3 of the Cocolí locks.

GUPC technical personnel, the designers and Panama Canal Authority specialists monitored the testing process, which consisted of gradually raising the water behind the lock gate to the level in which the seepage was first detected in sill no. 3 last year.

The Panama Canal Authority revealed last September that during stress testing of new locks for the Panama Canal, water seepage was found in a specific area of the new Pacific Ocean-side locks in a section separating the middle and lower chambers.

The localized seepage was determined to be the result of insufficient steel reinforcement in the area that was subjected to stress from extreme condition testing. After examination of all the other sills in both lock complexes, GUPC stated that in addition to reinforcing the sill that presented the issue, it would also reinforce the sills in the first two sets of locks as a preventative measure, even though the sills have not presented any issue.

Later, the testing was inspected by a team of independent experts, professors and structural engineers from the Technological University of Panama, all of whom expressed satisfaction with the final results, the Panama Canal Authority said in mid-February.

Currently, the Authority said, the project manager is testing the electromechanical components necessary for the expanded Canal to operate.

The $5 billion Panama Canal expansion is expected to allow post-Panamax ships to travel through the canal en route to East Coast terminals, thereby bypassing the US West Coast.

Less than four percent remains to complete the overall project, according to the Authority; an inauguration is planned for later this year.

Rebar Lacking in Panama Locks

By Mark Edward Nero

The contractor responsible for the design and construction of a set of locks for the expansion of the Panama Canal says it has found the cause of localized seepage found last month in the concrete sill between the lower and middle chamber of the Canal’s expanded Pacific Ocean-facing locks.

In a recent letter to the Panama Canal Authority, contractor Grupo Unidos por el Canal, known as GUPC, wrote that the localized seepage was the result of insufficient steel reinforcement in the area that was subjected to stress from extreme condition testing. After examination of all the other sills in both lock complexes, GUPC stated that in addition to reinforcing the sill that presented the issue, they would also reinforce the sills in the first two sets of locks as a preventative measure, even though the sills have not presented any issue.

Canal Authority said that GUPC also verbally indicated that the completion date for the expansion project remains April 2016, as planned; however, the Authority said it is awaiting formal confirmation from GUPC in the form of a comprehensive report which should also include the root cause of the detected filtrations.

The Panama Canal Authority revealed Sept. 7 that during stress testing of new locks for the Panama Canal, water seepage was detected in a specific area of the new Pacific Ocean-side locks in a section separating the middle and lower chambers.

Despite the setback, the expansion project has now reached 93 percent completion, according to the Canal Authority, and work continues in other areas of the project.

The $5 billion Panama Canal expansion is expected to allow post-Panamax ships to travel through the canal en route to East Coast terminals, thereby bypassing the US West Coast. It was initially scheduled to be complete in 2014 to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the opening of the existing canal, but snafus have delayed the completion by nearly two years so far.

Water Seepage Could Delay Panama Canal Project

By Mark Edward Nero

During stress testing of new locks for the Panama Canal, water seepage was detected in a specific area of the new Pacific Ocean-side locks in a section that separates the middle chamber and lower chamber, the Panama Canal Authority revealed Sept. 7.

This development means that the opening of the canal expansion, which has had a handful of delays already and is currently planned for spring 2016, could be pushed back again.

The Panama Canal Authority said it is now awaiting a formal report from the construction contractor, which will be issued following detailed inspections. The report is expected to include a root cause analysis, as well as the recommended repair methodology.

Upon evaluating the report's findings, the Canal Authority says, it will assess and communicate if the project’s completion timeline will be affected in any way.

The Authority also says it has designated two independent external structural engineers to conduct an objective evaluation of the reasons for seepage and assess the construction contractor’s solution.

Despite the setback, the expansion project has now reached 93 percent completion and work continues in other areas of the project, according to the Authority. Updates are expected to be issued by the Canal Authority as information becomes available.

The $5 billion Panama Canal expansion, which is expected to allow post-Panamax ships to travel through the canal en route to East Coast terminals, thereby bypassing the US West Coast, was initially scheduled to be completed in 2014 to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the opening of the existing canal, but snafus have delayed the completion by nearly two years so far.

LNG Terminal Coming to Panama Canal

By Mark Edward Nero

The US Trade and Development Agency on June 26 awarded a grant to the Panama Canal Authority to support the planning of a liquefied natural gas import terminal at the Panama Canal.

If the ongoing expansion project is completed next year as planned, the Canal is expected to handle significant LNG tanker traffic. In order to capitalize on this growth, the Canal Authority is developing LNG-related infrastructure projects, including an import terminal.

The USTDA-funded feasibility study will help the ACP set strategic priorities and plan projects related to LNG infrastructure and natural gas utilization at the Panama Canal. The LNG terminal is anticipated to support the implementation of maritime- and energy-related projects that would accommodate increased shipping traffic through the expanded Canal.

“As we near the completion of the Panama Canal Expansion, we are eager to explore new segments such as LNG, which are now possible given our enhanced capacity to accommodate longer and wider ships,” Canal Authority CEO Jorge Quijano said. “This grant by the USTDA will build on plans and projects related to LNG that are already ongoing and will present us with the ability to evaluate additional market opportunities and client services for the benefit of the US-Panama energy trade.”

The Canal’s re-inauguration is currently scheduled for April 2016.

Nicaragua Breaks Ground on Panama Canal Rival

By Mark Edward Nero

The Central American country Nicaragua broke ground Dec. 22 on a new Chinese-backed shipping canal that aims to rival the Panama Canal. The $50 billion, 172-mile canal could be operational by the year 2020, according to the Nicaraguan government.

The Nicaragua Canal aims to connect the Caribbean Sea, and therefore the Atlantic Ocean, with the Pacific Ocean. The proposed route starts from the mouth of the Brito river on the Pacific Ocean side, passes through Lake Nicaragua, and ends in the Punta Gorda river on the Caribbean.

The proposed canal would be up to 1,706 feet wide and 90 feet deep. By contrast, the 48 mile-long Panama Canal is 110 feet wide, and 41.2 feet in depth.

Construction of the new waterway is to be run by Hong Kong-based HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co., commonly known as HKND Group; the company is run by Chinese telecom mogul Wang Jing.

“This moment will surely go down in history. I announce the start of work on the great canal of Nicaragua,” Wang Jing said during a Dec. 22 groundbreaking event, which was held on Nicaragua’s Pacific coast.

Despite the groundbreaking and the start of work on Dec. 29, excavation work isn’t scheduled to begin until the second half of 2015.

Although a Chinese company is managing the project, Nicaraguan officials have maintained that the Chinese government itself isn’t behind the project and that the canal is expected to receive international funding.

“The Chinese haven’t arrived in Nicaragua with occupying troops,” Nicaragua President Daniel Oretga said regarding the canal in a speech in late December.

Crowley Barge Aiding Canal Expansion

By Mark Edward Nero

Crowley Maritime Corp.’s heavy lift barge 455-4 has successfully delivered the first in a series of new gates for the ongoing Panama Canal expansion, Crowley said Oct. 25.

The 455-4 was contracted by Sarens, a Belgium-based heavy lift company, to transport the gates from Cristóbal, a port on the Atlantic side of the Canal, to a construction dock built to receive the gates on the canal’s Pacific side.

The 105-foot wide barge, currently the largest capable of transiting the canal, was towed by Panama Canal Authority tugs and made the transit in just one day.

Crowley is scheduled to help transport all eight of the gates involved in the Pacific side lock expansion of the canal.

“Crowley provided Sarens the barge to complete this important step in the historical expansion of the Panama Canal,” Crowley Solutions Group Vice President John Ara, said.

The 455-4 is one in a series of eight high deck strength barges in Crowley’s fleet able to handle uniform loads up to 4,200 pounds per square foot. The barge is scheduled to transport three more gates during both November and December.

The Canal expansion project involves widening the channel and adding a third set of locks, one set on the Pacific and the other on the Atlantic side. The new locks require 16 gates which, when complete, will increase efficiency and allow larger, post-Panamax ships and extended width barges to traverse the canal.

Panama Canal Workers End Strike

By Mark Edward Nero

Construction workers in Panama have ended a strike that had shut down work on the expansion of the Panama Canal for more than two weeks.

On May 8, Grupo Unidos por el Canal, the consortium expanding the waterway, said in a statement that work had partially resumed on the project and was expected to gradually return in the coming days.

About 700 construction workers walked off the job April 24 demanding higher wages and better working conditions. The strike not only put a halt to a project to build a third set of locks for the Panama Canal, but hundreds of other projects around the world run by the consortium.

The strike came just six days after the president of Panama and other officials inaugurated the $3.1 billion latest phase of the canal expansion project, which includes construction of a new ship lock system complex and new waterway bridge. The current lock system lifts ships of up to 85 feet to the main elevation of the Panama Canal and down again. The new locks could accommodate larger ships.

The consortium has not said whether the strike is expected to affect the targeted December 2015 completion date for the canal expansion. The finish date for the $5.25 billion has already been pushed back multiple times from the original time frame of October 2014.

MARAD Study: Panama Canal Expansion to Have Substantial Effect

The expansion of the Panama Canal is expected to have more of an impact on shippers, ports and freight corridors on the East and Gulf coasts than the West Coast, according to a newly released study by the US Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD).

The study, which was released in late November, reports on shipping patterns and industry costs that could help the United States prepare for the anticipated impact on its ports, waterways and intermodal freight systems from the Panama Canal expansion.

The expansion, scheduled for completion in 2015, will give much larger vessels, specifically “Post Panamax” vessels, greater access to the US ports on the East and Gulf coasts.

The Panama Canal Expansion Study, the first of a two-part report, found the integration of Post-Panamax vessels into US trade lanes will have substantial implications for the nation’s shippers, ports and surface freight corridors, particularly along the East Coast, Gulf Coast and inland states located east of the Mississippi River.

The report also found that more cost-effective service generated by the larger vessels could improve the ability of some US exports, such as grain, coal, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas, to compete in global markets.

However, shifts in shipping patterns impacting the national transportation system are expected to occur slowly and over time.

“Preparation is the key, and we’re already seeing it,” Acting Maritime Administrator Chip Jaenichen said. “Increased cargo means expanded capacity, and forward-looking ports are deepening their harbors and improving their intermodal connections.”

The full Panama Canal Expansion Study can be found at http://www.marad.dot.gov/library_landing_page/maritime_publications/Library_Publications.htm.

Nicaragua Canal Project Gets a Developer

The attempt to build an alternative to the Panama Canal became a bit closer to reality recently, as the Nicaraguan legislature has approved an exclusive commercial agreement with infrastructure development firm HKND Group to advance the Nicaragua Canal and Development Project.

The agreement, which was ratified June 13, grants Hong Kong-based HKND exclusive rights for the planning, design, construction, operation, and management of the Nicaragua Canal and other potential infrastructure development projects, including free trade zones and an international airport.

“Central America is at the center of North-South and East-West global trade flows, and we believe Nicaragua provides the perfect location for a new international shipping and logistics hub,” HKND Group Chairman Wang Jing said in a prepared statement announcing the agreement.

“Global shipping demands the efficiency and cost competitiveness of increasingly larger ships, and we believe this project will serve that still-unmet need,” Jing said.

The Nicaragua Canal is a proposed waterway through Nicaragua to connect the Pacific Ocean with Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The 130-mile waterway is expected to take up to 11 years to complete.

HKND says it has determined that contrary to previous belief, the route will not follow the San Juan River and that it is exploring the viability of alternate pathways.

HKND says that initial findings from its commercial analysis state that growth in East-West trade and ship sizes could eventually lead to $1.4 trillion in total goods value transiting the combined Nicaragua and Panama canals.

Port of Long Beach, Panama Canal Renew Pact

The Port of Long Beach and the Panama Canal Authority have renewed an agreement that promotes more trade between the United States and Latin America.

With the renewal of the agreement, which first signed in December 2010, the two authorities agree to continue to share marketing ideas aimed at boosting trade between Long Beach and countries along South America’s east coast and in the Caribbean via the Panama Canal.

“This is an excellent example of how two institutions, each with more than 100 years of innovation, can share ideas to improve commerce, engineering and environmental sustainability,” Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano said.

The memorandum of understanding also facilitates the exchange of ideas for seaport engineering, dredging and environmental practices. The accord also covers marketing activities and the exchange of technical expertise in training and other areas. “We continue to work together to increase our trade with the nations of Latin America,” Port of Long Beach Executive Director Chris Lytle said. “We see this pact as a long-term, mutually beneficial agreement.”

Trade with Latin America accounts for a small percentage of Long Beach’s annual trade volume, but port officials say they hope to expand service to emerging markets to boost future trade. The Canal is undergoing an expansion project expected to be completed by 2015, which would allow larger ships to transit.

The Port of Long Beach has similar agreements in place with ports in China, Europe and Mexico.

Panama Canal Expansion About Halfway Finished

Expansion of the Panama Canal, which began five years ago, is now about halfway finished, according to the government agency overseeing the project.

The Panama Canal Authority revealed Sept. 25 that the project, which is expected to double the canal’s capacity by 2014, was almost 45 percent complete as of Aug. 31, 2012. The project, which was officially kicked off in September 2007, creates a new lane of traffic along the canal by constructing a new set of locks.

The expansion “is moving forward at a good pace,” according to Panama Canal Administrator/CEO Jorge Quijano.

Among the project’s components are the excavations of new access channels, the widening of existing channels and the deepening of navigation channels. The expansion is expected to allow post-Panamax ships to travel through the canal en route to East Coast terminals, something that could negatively affect West Coast vessel traffic.

A key component of the expansion is construction of two new ship lock system complexes -- one each on the Atlantic and Pacific sides. The current lock system lifts ships of up to 85 feet to the main elevation of the Panama Canal and down again. According to the Authority, design and construction of the expanded locks, which could accommodate larger ships, has reached 31 percent.

The locks gates are being fabricated in Italy and the first four gates should be shipped to Panama during the first quarter of 2013, according to the Canal Authority. The contractor’s expected to complete the main lock structure and begin pre-commissioning tests in the dry during the first quarter of 2014, with flooding of the locks and final commissioning then planned to start in September 2014.

New POLB Executive Director Outlines His Vision

The Port of Long Beach needs to be bold in bringing in more trade, jobs, business and revenue, according to new executive director J. Christopher Lytle.

“To keep generating jobs and economic activity here in Long Beach, we have to stay ahead of our competition,” he said during his first-ever State of the Port address, given Jan. 19 at the Long Beach Convention Center. “We must continue to make major investments in our facilities.”

Lytle, who was named the successor to outgoing executive director Dick Steinke last November, said the port projects that it will move 6.3 million containers in 2012, up slightly from the 6.1 million that traveled through the port last year. He also covered many other issues during the wide-ranging address, including the expected emergence of new competition for cargo.

“With the coming of the Panama Canal in 2014, the battle for our business and our jobs will only grow,” he said. “Once bigger ships can sail through the Panama Canal, the Gulf and East Coast ports will try to grab a greater slice of the pie.”
The answer for Long Beach, he said, is to be ready with deep waterways, efficient cargo-handling terminals, high-capacity rail connections and state-of-the-art security, among other things.

And to that point, he touted the port’s Middle Harbor project, which, by the time it’s finished in 2019, is expected to double its previous capacity and move about 3.1 million containers, while reducing the amount of pollution the terminal generates by half.

The port has finalized negotiations on a 40-year, $4.6 billion lease on the terminal with Orient Overseas Container Line and its affiliate, Long Beach Container Terminal.

“It’s by far the biggest project in North America,” Lytle said.

Among the other highlights of the speech:
•    As of Jan. 1, all 11,000 drayage trucks serving the Port of Long Beach are newer, cleaner models, thanks to the port’s Clean Trucks Program. The program has cut truck pollution by 90 percent, Lytle said.
•    All the port’s major terminals are expected to have shore power capabilities by 2014.
•    Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the port has increased its security staff by 40 percent and invested tens of millions of dollars on equipment and training. More than 130 surveillance cameras now operate throughout the port complex, Lytle said.
•    About $5 million in grants earmarked for reducing greenhouse gasses are slated to be issued out to community groups and other stakeholders.

Long Beach Trade Center to Host Panama Canal Panel

Last year, the Center for International Trade and Transportation (CITT) at California State University, Long Beach concluded a 10-year run of annual CITT Town Hall meetings that brought transportation experts together to offer their perspectives on critical topics. The well-attended and highly-praised town hall meetings evolved over their life into an important must-attend event for those in the Southern California international trade and shipping community.

On Oct. 6 at the Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts in Long Beach, the CITT will launch the evolutionary follow-up to the town hall meetings called Point/Counterpoint.

This new event will bring together experts who will offer insight, education and information, not debate, about a specific topic of current interest. The topic for the inaugural Point/Counterpoint event is “Panama Canal Expansion: The Battle for Jobs and Cargo. Who Wins? Whose Loses? Who Decides?”

“Generally, a point/counterpoint discussion is like a debate; however the CITT Point/Counterpoint series is an educational forum and the desired outcome is not to have a winner or loser of the debate, but rather to gain salient information from all angles." said CITT Executive Director Marianne Venieris.

The CITT has scheduled a pair of speakers with knowledge of both the Panama Canal expansion and the shipping industry in general – Paul Bingham from Wilbur Smith Associates in Virginia, and Mary Brooks from Canada’s Dalhousie University in Halifax – to review the facts surrounding the canal’s expansion as well as challenge existing assumptions concerning implications for West Coast ports, cargo volume, and jobs.

"The Panama Canal expansion is one of those issues that everybody talks about, yet nobody is clear on the implications for the Southern California Ports," Venieris said.

"When the expanded Canal opens, importers will have to be aware of other trends that are emerging that could threaten cargo growth through the ports of LA and LB," she said. "On the other hand, some of these trends could end up favoring west coast ports."

The expanded Panama Canal is scheduled for opening in 2014, which coincides with the canal’s 100th anniversary. The expansion will result in the construction of two new sets of locks – one on the Pacific and one on the Atlantic side of the canal. The expansion also entails the widening and deepening of existing navigational channels. The improvements will make it possible for ships to take significantly larger loads through the canal from East Asia to U.S. Gulf ports and ports along the Eastern Seaboard, which could impact West Coast port activity.

"The issue is how much of an advantage does the Panama Canal give shippers like Wal-Mart and Home Depot in getting their goods to their final destinations," said Venieris. "It’s important for our ports because if there are no containers coming in, there’s no business and then there’s no money. It’s not only the ports that will be affected, but also the railroads, trucking, warehouses…pretty much all businesses involved in international trade.”

For more information, visit www.ccpe.csulb.edu/citt , call 562/985-2872, or email Point-Counterpoint@ccpe.csulb.edu.

Long Beach Trade Center To Host Panama Canal Panel

Last year, the Center for International Trade and Transportation (CITT) at California State University, Long Beach concluded a 10-year run of annual CITT Town Hall meetings that brought transportation experts together to offer their perspectives on critical topics. The well-attended and highly-praised town hall meetings evolved over their life into an important must-attend event for those in the Southern California international trade and shipping community.

On Oct. 6, the CITT will launch the evolutionary follow-up to the town hall meetings called Point/Counterpoint. This new event will bring together experts who will offer insight, education and information, not debate, about a specific topic of current interest. The topic for the inaugural Point/Counterpoint event is “Panama Canal Expansion: The Battle for Jobs and Cargo. Who Wins? Whose Loses? Who Decides?”

“Generally, a point/counterpoint discussion is like a debate; however the CITT Point/Counterpoint series is an educational forum and the desired outcome is not to have a winner or loser of the debate, but rather to gain salient information from all angles." said CITT Executive Director Marianne Venieris.

The CITT has has scheduled a pair of speakers with knowledge of both the Panama Canal expansion and the shipping industry in general--Paul Bingham from Wilbur Smith Associates in Virginia, and Mary Brooks from Canada’s Dalhousie University in Halifax--to review the facts surrounding the canal’s expansion as well as challenge existing assumptions concerning implications for West Coast ports, cargo volume, and jobs.

"The Panama Canal expansion is one of those issues that everybody talks about, yet nobody is clear on the implications for the Southern California Ports," Venieris said.

"When the expanded Canal opens, importers will have to be aware of other trends that are emerging that could threaten cargo growth through the ports of LA and LB," she said. "On the other hand, some of these trends could end up favoring west coast ports."

The expanded Panama Canal is scheduled for opening in 2014, which coincides with the canal’s 100th anniversary. The expansion will result in the construction of two new sets of locks — one on the Pacific and one on the Atlantic side of the canal. The expansion also entails the widening and deepening of existing navigational channels. The improvements will make it possible for ships to take significantly larger loads through the canal from East Asia to U.S. Gulf ports and ports along the Eastern Seaboard which could impact West Coast port activity.

"The issue is how much of an advantage does the Panama Canal give shippers like Wal-Mart and Home Depot in getting their goods to their final destinations," said Venieris. "It’s important for our ports because if there are no containers coming in, there’s no business and then there’s no money. It’s not only the ports that will be affected, but also the railroads, trucking, warehouses…pretty much all businesses involved in international trade.”

For more information, visit www.ccpe.csulb.edu/citt , call 562/985-2872, or email Point-Counterpoint@ccpe.csulb.edu.

Panama Canal and Gulf State Port Authority Sign Partnership

The Panama Canal Authority has signed a first-ever partnership agreement with a Gulf State port authority as part of an effort to attract transpacific cargo to an all-water Asia-to-Gulf/East Coast route through an expanded canal which is set for completion in 2014.

Panama Canal Authority (PCA) Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta and Mississippi State Port Authority at Gulfport (MSPA) Executive Director/CEO Donald Allee announced the partnership by signing a five-year memorandum of understanding that will allow for joint marketing ventures, information sharing and technological exchange.

“Today’s MOU signing represents a great opportunity for Panama and Mississippi to build upon our existing offerings and trade relationship through a mutually beneficial alliance,” said PCA's Alemán Zubieta. “One of the primary tenets of the ACP is to continually look for creative approaches to boost trade flows and provide safe, reliable and efficient service to the international maritime community. This agreement is one way that we can help achieve this goal.”

The MSPA is an Enterprise Agency of the State of Mississippi and is responsible for the daily operations of the Port of Gulfport. Part of the mission of both the ACP and the Port is to further increase capacity and foster business development. In 2009, Panama was Mississippi ’s third largest trading partner, in terms of exports, after Canada and Mexico.

“For four decades, the Mississippi State Port Authority has focused on growth prospects in the Western Hemisphere, but the expanded Panama Canal will afford the Port of Gulfport new opportunities to be more competitive in shipping between North America and both Asia and the West Coast of South America,” said MSPA's Allee. “This agreement between the MSPA and the ACP will provide a framework for our two entities to work together to pursue new business opportunities that will result from an expanded Panama Canal.”

The Panama Canal is currently undergoing a $5.25 billion expansion project, which will double the waterway’s capacity and build a new lane of traffic through the construction of a new set of locks. Scheduled for completion in 2014, the expansion will allow more ships and the passage of longer and wider vessels through the Canal.
The canal is one of the major threats to West Coast discretionary cargo – that cargo which does not stay in West Coast port areas and heads mainly via rail to the Midwest or Eastern United States. In the Southern California ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, nearly 50 percent of all cargo moving through the two ports each year is discretionary.