The lesson of this simple demonstration is borne out by the 13,000 oceangoing vessels that use the Canal every year.
Fortunes rest on the time it takes for goods to move from one part of the world to another.
While transits through the Panama Canal save considerable time and fuel, navigating this narrow waterway also presents many challenges. As pilots direct ships past landslides, around corners, and over submerged rocks, they navigate by a system of buoys and land-based markers. Relying primarily on visual cues and experience, a pilot aligns the ship within the channel and recognizes when to adjust ship heading or speed. Unfortunately, when rain or fog obscures visual navigation aids, a pilot may be unable to determine if the ship is on course, drifting perilously close to the bank, or heading into the path of an oncoming vessel. The Canal's navigation difficulties are closely tied to the impediments that hindered its construction, such as the fractured geology that causes recurring landslides.