Dear MEL Topic Readers,
‘The heart of the universe’: How the Panama Canal changed the world
Panama lies between the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea, an extension of the Atlantic Ocean. With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903. The US was given the right to construct the Panama Canal the following year and completed the construction in 1914. Before the canal’s opening, ships had to sail all the way below South America to Cape Horn to cross the two oceans. The 80-kilometer canal with six sets of locks that raise and lower ships between the two oceans, saves over 12,000 kilometers in travel distance. Now, about 5% of all global trade and 40% of all US containers pass the canal. The canal’s control was handed over from the US to Panama at the end of 1999. The expansion project was launched in 2007 and completed in 2016, allowing larger vessels, New Panamax, to pass the canal. The canal is also a hot tourist destination. Over 800,000 visitors came to the canal’s main visitor center last year. Now, the new US president threatens to seize control of the Panama Canal. Why? How?
Read the article and learn about how significant the Panama Canal is to world trade.
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/visiting-panama-canal-history-strategies/index.html
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