Patriot Transit | Panama Canal

Looking south, sea level section of canal in the distance. Aug.28,1915

To get from the Atlantic to the Pacific via the Panama Canal a vessel is actually moving north to south, rather than east to west. A vessel such as the Patriot would normally be a lower priority vessel (passenger vessels are high priority and pay handsomely for that status) and anchor outside the breakwater in the hazardous vessel area (tankers and the like). As with almost everything about the Panama Canal Transit even the anchoring is choreographed; “Anchor in position east breakwater light bearing 167 at 2.1 miles” or something like that. While anchored this trip we witnessed a vessel receive orders to proceed inside the breakwater. With its anchor aweigh (off the bottom) it either suffered a mechanical failure or the master made a critical ship handling error. Turning, the ship struck and damaged another vessel. Interestingly the offending ship’s master, contacted by shore authorities to return to anchor pending resolution of the incident, denied it ever happened. “Sir, you had a collision with another vessel.” “No we didn’t.” Within 24 hours of anchoring Patriot received orders to proceed into the breakwater to follow a particular vessel. At very slow speed the ship receives Panamanian officials to clear the vessel for transit – papers are in order documents up to date, etc. The officials depart and, continuing at slow speed toward the first set of locks the vessel is met by a pilot boat, tugs and crew boats, the size of the ship determining the number of tugboats to assist the ship onto the landing wall as well as the number of pilots. The landing is simply an extension of the center lock wall. NOTE: With one exception only, everywhere in the world the pilot is a man with local knowledge of the port, river, canal, etc. Legally, he only advises the ship’s captain on what courses and speeds to make good. The ship’s captain is ultimately responsible for the vessel. The only place in the world where the Pilot is fully responsible for the vessel is the Panama Canal.

Because of the inherent danger of loss should a lock be damaged the Panama Canal Authority places its own personnel on board the vessel to handle lines; these gangs come aboard before each set of locks and depart after clearing through. Again, the size of the vessel will determine the number of pilots/assistants. A maximum width/maximum length/maximum draft (Panamax) vessel could require up to 6. With improvements in technology and the GPS system, the ship’s pilot mounts a GPS system on the bridge wing with sensors in critical positions on the ship, enters information from a data bank and the readout will show the position of the vessel in the lock chamber to within inches or less. As the vessel approaches the first chamber and the landing, two small rowboats approach the ship at either side of the bow. One end of a very strong very small line is passed to the ship and the other to crew on the lock side. Cable is then hauled aboard the ship from the mules, small locomotives that will assist the vessel to maintain its position within the lock chamber. Once the mules are made fast (line is secured) the tug boats are released to assist the next vessel in line. These locomotives are the direct descendants of the beasts used in years long past for the same purpose. On instruction from the vessel’s pilot the locomotives would tighten or slacken to hold the ship centered in the chamber. Secured in the first chamber the lock door closes using the pressure of the water to keep the door shut. Water is introduced into the chamber and the vessel rises. When it reaches the level of the second chamber the gates open and the vessel proceeds. A large or Panamax vessel will occupy so much space within the chamber that as the vessel attempts to move forward to the next chamber the water displaced has little room to pass by the vessel necessitating more engine power. Once moving the mules are put to good use slowing the forward momentum of the ship.

The existing lock system chambers are 1050 feet long, 110 feet wide. The deepest draft vessel to transit the ‘old’ locks drew 49.5 feet of water. The central wall between the parallel locks at Gatun is 59 feet thick and over 79 feet high. The steel lock gates measure an average of 6.6 feet thick, 64 feet wide, and 66 feet high and float. With increasingly large vessels expansion of the Canal had been discussed for years. Construction commenced in 2007 and the new locks were opened in 2016 at an estimated cost of $5.25 billion. On the Atlantic side the Gatun Locks are now supplemented by the Agua Clara locks, while on the Pacific side Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks are supplemented by the Cocoli Locks. The new lock chambers feature sliding gates, doubled for safety, and are 1,400 feet long, 180 feet wide, and 60 feet deep. This allows the transit of 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. More efficient use of fresh water has been attained. At the time the Patriot made its transit preparatory to its Chile diesel run, the new locks were a few years down the road. Clearing Gatun Locks Patriot proceeded through Gatun Lake to Gamboa home of the Canal Dredging Division. Located at the intersection of the Chagres River and Gatun Lake it is considered by many the ‘end of the road’. It is also the access point to the five star Gamboa Rainforest Resort which contains an aerial tram to visit the jungle canopy, and many other ecology based attractions which now draw many people to the town. Gamboa marks the rough beginning of Gaillard (Culebra) Cut, where the Canal cuts through the continental divide. As the Patriot, deeply laden at about 35 foot draught, passed through the 7+ mile stretch of ‘The Cut’ the massive amount of earth moved became apparent. Terracing, sloping of the hills, drainage of streams down the hillside, the never ending green of the jungle – I could only marvel at the engineering. In McCullough’s book mention is made of the frequent landslides that would wipe out days and weeks of work in the bottom of the cut. These landslides necessitated more sloping and terracing. The frequency of the landslides decreased but never really stopped until water was introduced into the cut. The outward pressure from the water helped hold the land in check. The highest spot in The Cut is Gold Hill rumored to be called that to draw workers to Panama who, finding no gold, would then work on the Canal. But that is only a rumor. No gold has ever been found on Gold Hill. Near Gold Hill is the Centennial Bridge, a massive beauty opened in 2004 to ease bottlenecks at the Bridge of the Americas 9 miles south at Balboa, Pacific entrance to the Canal. Clearing the cut the Patriot repeated the evolution completed at Gatun, tugs assist in the approach to Pedro Miguel Locks until the mules are made fast, the vessel eases into the (single-this time) chamber and is lowered to Miraflores Lake 31 feet below. A short hop takes the Patriot to Miraflores Lock, a double chambered affair, lowering the Patriot 54 feet to the level of the Pacific Ocean. The last of the line gangs soon depart, the vessel and all hands start to breath a little easier. With smaller and smaller crews most are working the entire transit and then work their regular shift. Under the Bridge of the Americas we go, as part of the Pan-American Highway system connecting North America to South America, past the US colonial style town of Balboa and along the 3 mile breakwater into Panama Bay. Panama City in the near distance with its vast array of skyscrapers make for a beautiful backdrop as we drop off the pilot(s) and proceed into the placid Pacific.