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PANAIVii^ CANAL COMMISSION

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BALBOA, REPUBLIC OF PANA^4A

ADMINISTRATOR

DP. McAuliffe

DEJ>UTY ADMINISTRATOR

Fernando Manfredo, Jr.

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

:: : Wniic K. Friar

The preparation of this special

publication by the Office of Public

Affairs involved the efforts of many

people. Deserving special mention arc

the photo lab technicians of the Graphic

Branch, the Printing Office, the

Technical Resources Center, the

Language Services Branch, and the

Office of Executive Planning.

Photographs are by Arthur Pollack,

Kevin Jenkins, Armando DeGracia and

Don Goode, who also shot the photo of

Miraflores Locks that appears on the

cover. Kaye Richey created the 75th

Anniversary slogan and adapted the

album text from the work of Gil

Williams and of Richard Wainio of the

Office of Executive Planning. Melvin D.

Kennedy, Jr., designed the album and

served as photo editor. Jaime Gutierrez

created the 75th Anniversary logo and

did the album layout. James J. Reid and

Jos6 S. Alegria Ch. of the Printing Office

were invaluable in the layout and

typesetting process.

An Official publication of the Panama Canal Commission,

April 1989

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I m epuTu Administrator on the 75th Anniversary of the Panasr '\

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eventy-five years ago, the world hailed the monumental engineeriiip^^^?x'emi3nt of the

century. The opening of the Panama Canal on August 15, 1914, fulfillecJ ih»; ccnturies-olH .

I dream of uniting the world's two great oceans and established a new li.'k 'n the v;orld . _ transportation chain. '

Since the SS Ancon made the first official transit, a large share of world trade has passed through

the waterway over many of the principal international trade routes. In the past seven and a half

decades, more than 4 billion long tons of the world's goods were carried through the waterway on

over 680,000 vessels, spurring economic expansion in many areas of the world.

Today, the Panama Canal is a completely modern utility serving the maritime nations of the

world with fast, safe, efficient service and is forging ahead with plans for meeting the future needs of

the shipping community.

Few businesses have experienced as much dramatic change in recent years as the maritime

industry but by staying abreast of these changes, the Canal has been able to keep its competitive

edge in international commerce.

The most important factor, however, in meeting the continuing challenge of global change is our

vibrant community of employees—the men and women who operate the waterway. Today, as in

construction days, the work force is composed of highly skilled, dedicated people who take a special

pride in being part of this vital world utility.

To all of these men and women, Americans, Panamanians, and nationals of other countries,

must go the credit for maintaining the high standards of efficiency that have characterized the

Panama Canal from the beginning. Whatever the future needs of world shipping, we are confident

that these standards of excellence will be maintained.

As we celebrate our Diamond Jubilee, we pay tribute to these employees and to the thousands of

others who labored in the tropical sun and pouring rain to create the Canal, an engineering

masterpiece of enduring quality. The Panama Canal was a wonder of the world in its day and remains

an operational success today.

And we salute the shipping industry by offering our three quarters of a century of experience as assurance that the Canal will continue its tradition of long term planning, reliability, and

modernization which form a part of the rich heritage of a waterway dedicated to serving world trade.

V>

D. P. MCAULIFFE

Administrator

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Fernando Manfredo, Jr.

Deputy Administrator
This commemorative album is the third

such publication in the history of the

Panama Canal. The first was printed

in 1939 on the Silver Anniversary of

the waterway and the second in 1964 on the

Golden Anniversary. The celebration of the

Diamond Jubilee of the Canal is a celebration of

the Canal's ability to respond to change, with

emphasis on today's ongoing improvements that

will extend into the future the Panama Canal's

long tradition of service to world shipping.

The story of the Panama Canal has always

been a story of change: a fundamental change in

the world's geography, the tremendous growth

of traffic through the Canal as international trade

grew betwee'n ports served by the Canal, change

in the type and size of ships as shipping technology advanced and became more specialized,

and responsive changes in the Canal.

Like the ancient Roman deity Janus, god of

doorways and beginnings, this album looks both

backward to the past and forward to the future, a future the Canal faces with confidence. After

all, what better way to honor the past than by

building the future? This concept provides the

theme for this album as well as for other activities, as the Panama Canal celebrates this

significant milestone in its history.

HONORING THE PAST BY

Above: Gamboa Dike, October 1913. The faces in this

dynamite gang, the most carefully selected of all work

teams, reflect the variety of nationalities that worked

together to build the Panama Canal.

J^

Right: The covers of the commemorative booklets

published for the 25th and 50th anniversaries.

HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE

PANAMA

CANAL

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1914^1939

TWENTY-riFTH ANNIVERSARY
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THE FUTURE

Overall: The Panama Canal's state-ofthe-art Marine Traffic Control Center.

A sophisticated communications

network, and closed circuit television

monitors all along the Canal, provide

controllers with real-time information

on the progress of traffic, and permit

tight coordination with pilots.

Inset opposite: The building of

tomorrow's schedule, with its complex

interactions between northbound and

southbound ships, requires schedulers

with years of hands-on experience.

Inset above: Marine Traffic Control

keeps the pilot abreast of schedule

changes as soon as they are made.

HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE
Thebuilding of the Caned was an unprecedented engineering triumph and

the product of almost superhuman

endeavor. It is conservatively estimated

that at least 75,000 men and women contributed

to the work during the ten-year construction period

between 1904 and 1914. These Canal

builders created: • Gatun Dam, the largest earth dam that had

ever been built.

Gatun Locks, the largest concrete structure that

had ever been erected.

Gatun Lake, the largest artificial lake that had

ever been created.

The healthiest strip of tropical terrain

anywhere in the world.

A water link across fifty miles that were, in the

words of author David McCuUough, "among

the hardest ever won by human effort and

ingenuity."

Above: A Panamax vessel transits Gaillard Cut

canying containerized cargo from the west coast

of Canada to Europe.

Right: Gaillard Cut, June 1911. Dirt trains from the

excavation ran downhill to the Pacific, dumping the

spoil to create what is now Balboa, Fort Amador

and the Causewas/; empty trains returned uphill to

continue the cycle. THE LAND DIVIDED - THE

HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE
Above: Gatun Locks, July 2, 1910. Visible in

the first floor section poured are the 5-foot

holes through which water will enter the lock

from lateral culverts under the floor.

Below: Gatun Locks, April 15, 1911. The

18-foot high main culverts in the lock walls are visible in the completed sections.

WORLD UNITED

Left: A portion of a 1912 lithograph by Joseph Pennell.

Top: Gatun Locks, March 13, 1913. An experimental

locks towing locomotive gets a trial run. Bottom: August 15, 1914. The SS Ancon eases into

Pedro Miguel Locks on the first official transit.

HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE
ATLANTIC OCEAN

A

sea-level canal across the Isthmus of

Panama had been a dream ever since

1513 when the Spanish explorer

Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed from

the Atlantic and discovered the Pacific. The

Isthmus became an important transit route for

gold moving back to Spain from the conquest of

Peru. In the 1850's a railroad was built, and in

1882 the French started their effort to build a

sea-level canal, but nature opposed them in

every way.

ATLANTIC OCEAN

reach its full level, work was moving along on

the construction of the locks at Gatun, Pedro

Miguel and Miraflores. An eight-mile excavation

through the continental divide—Gaillard Cut

extended the waters of Gatun Lake to Pedro

Miguel Locks.

At the Atlantic end of the lake, Gatun Locks

has three steps, for a total lift of some 85 feet.

On the Pacific, because the underlying soil could

not support a lock as large as Gatun, one step is

at Pedro Miguel and the remaining two steps at

Miraflores, with a small lake between them. The

total lift is the same.

Thus, a transit of the Canal is made with the

help of nature all along the way: ships are lifted

by water from sea level to lake level, cross the

Isthmus on the lake, and are lowered again to

sea level, all without the help of a single pump.

Fort San Lorenzo

Port of Cristobal.

LImon Bay

Of the many lessons learned

from the French, perhaps the

most important was the need to

get the Canal plan into harmony

with nature. Instead of digging a

ditch all the way across Panama,

U.S. engineers adopted an idea

that the French had rejected: to dam the

Chagres river to create a high-level lake, using

giant locks as water stairways to move ships up

and down from the lake.

The Chagres was dammed in 1910, and during

the four years required for Gatun Lake to

HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE

Left: The creation of

Gatun Lake.

Right: An artist's view

of the operation of

the Panama Canal.

6

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The geographical change wrought by the Canal

builders also made possible major world eco- nomic changes. Ideally situated to link the far

coasts of North and South America with Asia and

Europe, the Canal provides mileage savings and

the economic advantages of all-water transport.

Over the past 75 years these savings and advantages have played a major role in the development of today's worldwide economy.

This is especially evident in the trade between

the East coast of the United States and the Far

East, and along routes between the west coasts

of both North and South America and ports on

both sides of the Atlantic.

The expansion of world trading relationships

has been reflected in the growth in Canal traffic

since 1914. In the first full year of operations,

1,058 oceangoing ships transited the Canal;

today, more than 12,000 oceangoing ships a year

use the Canal.

Left: Miraflores Locks

welcomes vessels from all over

the world.
OCEAN TO OCEAN IN § HOURS

Each of the three locks has two lanes,

and traffic can go either way in each

lane. Each lock chamber is 1000 feet

long and 110 feet wide. Even after 75

years, they can still handle 93% of the world's

oceangoing ships.

Currently, the Canal's major cargo is grain

(principally corn and wheat moving from the

eastern United States to the Far East), followed

by petroleum and petroleum products, coal,

automobiles, and containerized cargo. Almost

160 million long tons of cargo pass through the

Canal annually.

Because the Isthmus of Panama runs roughly

east-west, ships traveling from the Pacific to the

Atlantic travel generally from southeast to

northwest and are referred to as northbound

ships; conversely ships headed for the Pacific

move southbound.

On a transit from the Pacific to the Atlantic, a

ship travels at sea level up an eight-mile approach

channel to Miraflores Locks, with Pedro Miguel

Locks and Gaillard Cut just beyond.

Miraflores Locks from Ancon Hill,

with Pedro Miguel Locks and Gaillard

Cut beyond.

9 HONORINGTHEPASTBYBUILDINGTHEFUTURE
During its transit of the Canal, a ship is under

full navigational control of a Panama Canal pilot.

On big ships, additional pilots are assigned to

help the command pilot, especially in the exacting task of moving the ship through the locks.

Tugs, directed by the pilot, assist in controlling

the speed and alignment of the ship. Panama

Canal deckhands aboard the ship handle the

hawsers from the tugs and the cables from the

lock towing locomotives.

Once hooked to the towing locomotives, the

ship moves into the lock under its own power,

with the four or six locomotives maintaining the

ship steady in the chamber, pulling and braking

as directed by the pilot. A lockmaster moves

along the lock wall with the ship, coordinating the

lock operation with the pilot and the control

house operator.

The largest lock gates are 82 feet high. Each of

the two gate leaves weighs 800 tons, but they are designed to be buoyant, and they are opened and

closed by a 40-horsepower electric motor.

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Lejt: A Panama Canal pilot guides a big ship through

Pedro Miguel Locks.

Above: A tug gives a helping nudge to bring a ship

parallel to the wall for its entrance into the lock.

HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE 10
Far left: A hand line is thrown

from the ship to the waiting

boatman, who will tie it to a line

attached to the locomotive

cable. After the center wall

cable is secured on board, the

process is repeated for the side

wall.

Left: Lock towing locomotives are used to maintain the ship

steady in the lock chamber.

Below: Powered by a 40-horsepower electric motor, the 82-feet

high gates swing shut behind the

ship.

11 HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE
After closing the lock gates, the control house

operator opens the giant valves that control the

flow of water from the lake into the chamber.

Gauges in the control house show the position of

the gates and the rising level of water in the lock.

Filling a lock to raise the ship takes about ten

minutes. All of the water for lockages comes from

the rain-fed lake and flows into and out of the

locks by gravity, another example of how the

Canal works in harmony with nature.

Once the level of water in the lower and upper

chambers has equalized, the gates are opened

and the ship moves into the next chamber, and

the process is repeated. Each full transit uses

about 52,000,000 gallons of lake water.

Right: Locking up a step. In each

lock chamber the rise is about 27

feet and takes about ten minutes.

HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE
Annual rainfall on the Isthmus provides plenty

of water for lockages, but has the disadvantage of

being concentrated in the rainy season, the eight

months between mid-April and mid-December.

In the early 1930's an additional lake—Madden

Lake—was created to provide added water storage for dry season lockages as well as to

minimize the threat of flash floods during the

rainy season. Created by damming the upper

Chagres River, it is fed by runoff from a vast

tropical rain forest. Because of the vital role of

water in Canal operations, and the direct

interrelationship between the tropical forest and

its rainfall, the Canal's reservoir management

system has been kept continually modernized;

and the Government of Panama has implemented

conservation programs specifically designed to

protect the Canal's watershed.

Left: A ship leaves Pedro Miguel Locks at the level of

Gatun Lake, moving into Gaillard Cut to begin its journey northbound across the Lake.

Above: Gaillard Cut in the dry season. Little or no rain

falls on the Isthmus from mid-December through

mid-April.

13 HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE
100' ft.= l RC.NET TON

Above: An illustration of the Panama Canal

net ton, which is a "ton" in terms of space

only. Under this system, whether the space

is filled with feathers or coal, toll is charaed

"-^ - for a "ton'

On the average, a ship spends less than 24

hours in waiting and transiting time, with actual

transit time averaging 8 to 10 hours. The average

toll paid is about $27,000. For an additional fee, a

ship with a tight schedule can book a reservation

in advance and be guaranteed transit for a

specific day.

Canal tolls are based on the ship's cargocarrying capacity, measured in "Panama Canal

net tons" equivalent to 100 cubic feet of cargo

space. Passenger space is charged on a similar

basis. The highest toll ever paid was near

$107,000, by the Queen Elizabeth II. The smallest

toll was 36 cents, paid in 1928 by an American

who was permitted to swim the Canal. Other statistics appear on page 18.

Above: A ship of "average" size. Such a ship

pays about $27,000 in tolls. Right: The Queen Elizabeth II transits

Miraflores locks during an overhaul of the

east lane.

HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE 14
On its transit toward the Atlantic, a northbound

ship emerges from Gaillard Cut at Gamboa,

where the Chagres river flows into the Canal.

For the 23 remaining miles of the ship's journey

across Gatun Lake, the channel generally follows

the original bed of the Chagres, winding its way

between islands that once were Chagres valley

hilltops.

An ongoing program to straighten curves and

to lower hilltops for improved pilot visibility is aimed at permitting ships to maintain maximum

speed across the lake.

When the ship reaches Gatun Locks at the far

side of Gatun Lake, it is lowered to sea level in

the Atlantic.

After leaving Gatun Locks, the ship travels out

a seven-mile long approach channel to the

Atlantic, thus completing its transit.

Left: Looking north into Gatun Lake at

Gamboa Reach, from the point where

Gaillard Cut ends.

Following page: Gatun Locks, with the

Atlantic breakwater and the cities of

Cristobal and Colon in the distance. The

grassy ridge stretching from the locks

toward the left is Gatun Dam. To the

right of the locks, beyond the townsite of

Gatun, can be seen the unfinished

excavation begun in 1939 to construct a

third set of locks.

15 HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE

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DID YOU KNOW

• That more than four and a half million

cubic yards of concrete went into the

construction of the Panama Canal's locks

and dams?

• That if the material originally excavated to build the Canal were put on a

train of flat cars, it would encircle the earth

four times? • That 101 steam shovels, 369 locomotives, 6,163 railroad cars, 9 track shifters, 26

earth spreaders, 20 dredges, 553 drills and

51 cranes, as well as numerous other

equipment, were used in the building of the

Canal? • That steam shovel gangs competed to

see which could excavate the most dirt each

month?

• That in the record-breaking month of

March 1912, 3,217 trains hauling 65,555 cars

carried dirt out of Gaillard Cut? • That Gatun Lake contains one and a

half million million (1.5 trillion) gallons of

water? • That a ship traveling between New

York and San Francisco saves 7,872 miles

by using the Panama Canal instead of going

around Cape Horn?

• That the lock gates are seven feet thick? • That the Atlantic entrance to the

Canal is 22 1/2 miles west of the Pacific

entrance? • That because of the reclining "S"

shape of the Isthmus of Panama the sun

rises from the Pacific and sets in the

Atlantic? • That the longest commercial vessels to

transit on a regular basis are the Marchen

Maersk and her sister ships, 964.9 feet long

and 105.7 feet in beam?

• That the most transits started in a

single day was 65, on February 29, 1968? • That the fastest transit ever was made

in June 1979 when the U.S. Navy hydrofoil

Pe3asus traveled from Miraflores through

Gatun Locks in 2 hours and 41 minutes? • That mean (average) sea level for the

Atlantic and Pacific is virtually the same? • But that because the tidal variation

at the Pacific entrance can be up to 18

feet, a sea level canal would be faced with

the problem of a current running northbound when the Pacific tide was high

and a current running southbound

when the tide was low?

June 1915. Early morning in Balboa, while the

ice man makes his rounds.

SPECIAL INFORMATION

Additional information about the Panama Canal will be fur- nished upon request. Inquiries by mail should be addressed to the Panama Canal Commission, 2000 L Street NW, Suite

550, Washington, D.C. 20036-4996, or to the following offices

in care of the Panama Canal Commission: APO Miami 34011-

5000; by Telex 3034 PCCAMRM PG; FAX 507-52-2122; or by

calling the following offices weekdays between 7:15 a.m. and

4:15 p.m., EST.

General Information

Director of Public Affairs

Office of Public Affairs

507-52-3165 (Panama)

Marine Operations

Marine Director

Marine Bureau

507-52-4500 (Panama)

Economic and Marketing Information

Chief, Economic Research and Marketing Development Div

Office of Executive Planning

507-52-7961 (Panama)

HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE 18
CHANGES IN THE CANAL'S WORLD75 YEARS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE I

Because the locks look much the same

today as they did in 1914, it is easy to

forget how much has changed in the 75

years since the Canal opened. In 1914, kitchens had ice boxes, not refrigerators, and ice was delivered in a mule-drawn wagon. But the world was already changing: World War I began

in Europe the very same week the Canal opened, and was followed in time by World War II, Korea, and Viet Nam.

Perhaps more significant than wars have been

the social and technological changes: greater

equality for women and minorities; a greater political voice for millions; the influence of the auto- mobile, the airplane, radio, television, computers,

and communications. Change on top of change, and

on the Isthmus of Panama nowhere was it more

evident than in the development of Panama City

into a modern metropolis.

Right: Administration Building parking, November 1922. Lower left: PAA sign, Balboa,

1935. Below: Central Avenue, Panama,

c. 1940. Note trollev cars, cars

driving on the left, and "Gone

With the Wind" playing at the

Cecilia theater.

CHANGES IN THE SKYLINE

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19 HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE
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Opposite page: Panoramas of Panama City from Ancon

Hill, 1908 and 1969.

Foldout: Panorama of Panama City today.

Above: The Panama Canal Administration Building, with a section of Panama City in the distance.

21 HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE
CHANGES IN THE SIZE AND TYPE

OF SHIPS USING THE CANAL

As the number of ships using the Canal grew,

they were also increasing in size. After World

War II, the evolution of specialized vessels and

new methods of cargo handling, particularly the

development of container ships, revolutionized

the maritime industry.

As ships were changing, so too was the Canal.

So much work has been done on the channelincluding slide removal and the widening of the

Cut from 300 to 500 feet—that more dirt has

been removed than was excavated to build it. The Canal acquired faster and more powerful

tugs and locomotives, installed bank lights in the

Cut and stronger lights at the locks, and improved its operating and overhaul techniques.

HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE

Left: The Japanese general cargo ship Chicago Maru passes a

curve widening project at La Pita, December 2, 1 922.

Above: Biplanes aboard the "aeroplane" carrier USS Saratoga in

Miraflores Locks, June 11, 1930.

Below: Considered a giant ship then, a 96-foot wide bulk carrier

passes dredges widening the Cut from 300 to 500 feet, 1968.

Facing page: One of today's giants. Century Hope 105.6 feet in

beam, with 2.2 feet to spare on either side.
CHANGE IN THE NUMBER

OF VERY LARGE SHIPS I

Today's biggest challenge is the growing number

of very large ships transiting the Canal. In 1965,

less than 1% of all oceangoing transits were over

100 feet in beam; today more than 24% are over

100 feet in beam. Often referred to as Panamax

vessels, they are designed to the maximum size

that can safely fit into the 110-foot wide locks.

The advantage to the Canal is that these ships are wonderfully efficient users of the waterway.

Because of them, increasing amounts of cargo

transit in fewer vessels. If the average vessel size

had stayed the same as it was in 1965, it would

have taken more than 30,000 ships to carry the

tonnage that passed through the Canal last year

in just over 12,000 transits.
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Left: Locks overhaul in

the dry. Each lock

chamber is unwatered on

a six-year cycle to

overhaul lock floors and

walls, culverts, and

gates.

Right: Locks Division

welders strengthen the

frame of a lock towing

locomotive.

MODERNIZING

TO MEET THE CHALLENGE

Panamax ships take more pilots, more

skill, more maneuverable tugs, more

powerful lock locomotives, and more

care. The Canal has succeeded in meeting this challenge by investing more than $100

million annually in accelerated maintenance

programs, modernization of the waterway, and

streamlining of operations.

More than 20% of the Canal's annual operating

budget is spent on maintenance: maintenance of

tugs, the locks, towing locomotives, the channel,

the dredges that maintain the channel, and all other supporting equipment. Everywhere, machinery is so well maintained it could be said that

the Panama Canal runs on oil as well as on water.

A series of innovative improvements over the

years has cut from six months to a matter of days

the time a lock lane has to remain out of service

for periodic overhaul of lock floors, culverts and

gates. During an overhaul, all traffic is tunneled

through the other lane using accelerated relay

lockage techniques.

24

Efficient transit scheduling and control are indispensable to maximizing the flow of traffic

through the Canal. Because very large ships are permitted to transit the Cut only during daylight,

and require one-way traffic there, scheduling of

traffic through the Cut is the most critical aspect

of the complex task of transit scheduling. Stateof-the-art computer and communications technology and closed-circuit television provide experienced schedulers and controllers with powerful

tools to plan, monitor and control the transit

process.

In addition, the installation of high-mast, highintensity lighting at the locks has effectively extended the hours during which daylight-restricted

ships can utilize the locks, and will, when lock

approach dredging is completed, permit large

ships to use all sections of the Canal at night ex- cept the Cut. The new tie-up station in the

Cut just north of Pedro Miguel adds capacity

for two more ships to wait for daylight or to stand

by waiting for traffic to clear the Cut or locks.
Above left to right: the

Deputy Administrator and

Administrator are briefed on an improved design for a

locks locomotive turntable

by the Deputy Director,

Engineering and

Construction Bureau.

Left: Panama Canal divers,

skilled in underwater

maintenance techniques,

practice use of the

recompression chamber on

the Canal's new $1.4 million

diving barge.

Right: Dredging work to

widen the approaches to

Miraflores Locks will

provide additional room for

maneuvering Panamax

ships.

25
Above and inset: An innovative technique perfected by Panama canal

engineers is used to replace locks towing locomotive track and underlying

concrete while traffic continues uninterrupted. Part of the work crew has

already moved out of the path of the oncoming locomotive. Some 40,000 feet

of track has been replaced using this "alternate tie" method.

HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE
Above: Track shifter at work,

Tabernilla Dump, August 13,

1907. This ingenious device,

developed by W. G. Bierd,

manager of the Panama

Railroad from 1905 to 1907,

did the work of 250 men. Above right: A working group

established by the Office of

Executive Planning evaluates a computerized study it developed to predict required

year-by-year input to the

pilot-training programs to

meet transit needs

through the year 2005.

Ingenuity and vision have always been part of

the Panama Canal tradition. The high caliber of

engineering and organization that went into the

construction of the Canal has its counterparts

throughout the Panama Canal organization, and

can be seen in innovative solutions to technical

problems as well as in the Canal's continued

operational success.

With the development of a variety of transportation alternatives, the Canal organization

recognizes that the waterway no longer has the

absolute advantage on as many routes as it once

had, and must therefore keep the quality of

transit service high and maintain tolls at competitive levels. At the same time the Panama

Canal Commission is required by U.S. law to

operate on a break-even basis, covering all of its

costs out of Canal revenues. It has done this

successfully since the present, business-type

organization was established in 1951, and is committed to continuing its present policy of

providing quality service at the lowest possible

cost.

As part of the Canal's commitment to longrange planning, additional improvement projects

to maintain Canal capacity ahead of transit

demand have been identified up to and into the

21st century. Such projections beyond the year

2000 are in keeping with the concept of the

Canal as an ongoing enterprise, and is consistent with Panama's goal of maintaining the

continuity of operations after it assumes full responsibility for the Canal at the end of 1999.

Consideration is also being given to the major

step of widening the Cut even further to permit

two-way transit of Panamax-size ships. As with

all improvements, traffic demand will be a

primary consideration.

27 HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE
THE CANAL'S MOST PRECIOUS ASSET

Although machinery is vital, the Canal's

most precious asset has been, and

will continue to be, its well-trained and

dedicated work force.

As the Canal organization celebrates its 75th

anniversary, honor is due not only to the heroic

builders of the Canal, but also to the tens of

thousands of men and women who, over the 75

years since opening day, have kept the Canal running. It is they who have built the Canal's reputation for dependable and efficient service.

Today's 7,500 employees, 84% of whom are Panamanian, are part of an unbroken chain of

pride in the operation of the Canal that stretches

back to August 15, 1914 and beyond, pride that is passed down from individual to individual along

with the special know-how that it takes to run the

Canal. It is an act of keeping faith with those gone

on: with those who built the Canal and those

whose stewardship has kept up the Canal's

high standards through the years.

'A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE'

A sampling of talent:

(1) Gabriel Polanco, Boatman;

(2) Pablo Gonzalez, Pilot;

(3) Rafael V. Barnett, Chief,

Pilot Rotation and Scheduling Unit; (4) Frederick

Highley, Rigger; (5) Pastora

Franceschi, Geologist;

(6) Pilots-in-Training,

coming on board.

HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE 28
The sample of talent continues: (1) Juan A. Vega, Surveying

Technician and Carlos E. Montana, Laborer; (2) Luzcando E. Medina, boilermaker;(3) Luis Alvarado, Supervisory Hydrologist;

(4) Patricia Chan, Assistant to the Chief Accountant; (5) Ernesto

Reyes, Machinist; (6) Joseph Whittaker and Jose Espino,

towboat engineers; (7) Jose Claus, towboat mate trainee;

(8) Ricardo Clark, Launch Dispatcher.

29 HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE
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Toassure the continuation of that tradition of employee pride and professionalism, the Canal organization

is investing more than $5 million each

year for training in the unique skills needed to

operate and manage the Canal.

Training reaches across the broad spectrum of

Canal occupations: transit operations, the maintenance force, electronic and technical support,

computer skills, accounting, and personnel

supervision; and ranges from formal classroom

training to internship and upward mobility

programs, providing employees in-depth, on-thejob experience.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE'

Training experiences: (1) basic electricity for apprentices;

(2) industrial training; (3) hands-on computer learning;

(4) electronic testing techniques; (5) language lab practice;

(6) seminar for supervisors.
Panama Canal pilots are the world's

best. Recruited from the ranks of ship

masters, tug masters and maritime

academy graduates with sea experience, they progress through at least eight years

of additional training with the Canal to qualify to

pilot the largest ships. Formal class-room seminars familiarize pilots with every inch of the Canal

and with its unique rules of the road and

navigating conditions, including the effects of

tides, weather, and the unusual hydro-dynamics

encountered in the narrow confines of the Canal.

Hands-on experience in handling every type and

size of vessel is now augmented by training on a

computerized simulator, bringing high tech to

the training process. As the Canal's Maritime

Training Unit also trains towboat masters and

engineers, teamwork is a major byproduct of the

training experience.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE'

q^pg,^ Above: Close quarters in Pedro Miguel Locks.

(1) Senior pilot with two pilot trainees; (2) Formal

classes on the dynamics of tug assistance; (3) Starting

with basics: the engine room; (4) Practicing lock

approaches on a computerized shiphandling simulator;

(5) Shipboard fire fighting techniques.

31 HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE
THE PANAMA CANAL'S DIAMOND JUBILEE - CELEBRATING

Asa result of its commitment to excellence, the Panama Canal is more

capable and efficient today than the

day it opened 75 years ago. Its ongoing programs of maintenance, improvement,

and employee training guarantee the ability to

carry on into the future its proud tradition of

providing dependable, safe and economical

transit service 24 hours each day, 365 days a

year, year after year.

Above: The Canal operates under all kinds of weather, 24 hours a day, 365

days a year.

Facing page: Miraflores Locks is an oasis

of light in the warm tropic night.

HONORING THE PAST BY BUILDING THE FUTURE 32
75 YEARS OF SERVICE TO WORLD SHIPPING

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

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