# Does ALL commercial and military shipping go through the Panama canal now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 4, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640 "2015-11-04T19:12:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/1 "2015-11-04T19:12:15Z")
When going from the Atlantic to Pacific and vice versa. Are there any special cases where they still need to go around the tip of South America? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/2 "2015-11-04T19:36:57Z")
I’ve heard that many oil tankers are too large to go through the Panama Canal. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/3 "2015-11-04T19:37:09Z")
Not every ship fits through the Panama Canal. There’s even a category (“Panamax”) that denotes the largest ships capable of fitting through the canal. For example, US supercarriers don’t fit through the canal, and nor do a lot of large tankers and container ships. That said, it’s not a common trade route to go around Cape Horn- it’s probably easier to just find Panamax ships, or unload on the US West Coast and then go from there. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/4 "2015-11-04T19:37:42Z")
[The World’s Largest Cargo Ship Will Be Too Wide to Fit in the Panama Canal](http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/a14375/this-quarter-mile-cargo-ship-is-the-largest-ever/). And lots more. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/5 "2015-11-04T20:00:33Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Not every ship fits through the Panama Canal. There’s even a category (“Panamax”) that denotes the largest ships capable of fitting through the canal. Panamax is also the brand name of a company that makes power filtering equipment. I learned the other definition when I told one of the engineers about the $20,000 worth of fancy new Panamax power conditioners we had purchased for a new project. His eyes bugged out and said “_how much power will this thing use?!_ :eek:” ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/6 "2015-11-04T20:04:00Z")
There is an expansion project underway which will essentially double the capacity by 2016. > **[Panama Canal expansion project](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_expansion_project)** > > The Panama Canal expansion project (Spanish: ampliación del Canal de Panamá), also called the Third Set of Locks Project, doubled the capacity of the Panama Canal by adding a new traffic lane, enabling more ships to transit the waterway, and increasing the width and depth of the lanes and locks, allowing larger ships to pass. The new ships, called New Panamax, are about one and a half times the previous Panamax size and can carry over twice as much cargo. The expanded canal began commercial ope... Even after the expansion some ships will not be able to pass through: > [@](#): > > even after opening the new, much larger locks, there will be ships that will not be able to pass through the Panama canal. These include Maersk E-class and Maersk Triple E class container ships, TI class supertankers, and Valemax ore carriers, all of which are too wide for the new locks. Furthermore, while the world’s largest cruise ships, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, will fit within the new locks, they are too tall to pass under the Bridge of the Americas even at low tide. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/7 "2015-11-04T20:08:30Z")
To get from Buenos Aires to Santiago they’d take the southern route? Or would they? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/8 "2015-11-04T20:09:37Z")
[The capacity of the Panama Canal is currently being expanded](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_expansion_project)with completion now scheduled for April 2016. A new set of lock chambers will increase the dimensions of the largest ships that can fit through from 1050x110 ft to 1400x180 ft. A few of the very largest ships, like the one linked to by **Exapno** , will still be unable to fit through. (The length is OK, but it’s too wide.) Here’s a [map of global shipping routes.](http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/images_blogs/wiredscience/2010/01/figure1a.gif) While most shipping passes through the Canal some does go around South America. ---
**Author:** ![Ispolkom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47774/32.png) [@Ispolkom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ispolkom)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/9 "2015-11-04T21:08:23Z")
The present Panama Canal is sufficiently inadequate that the Panama Canal Railway does a [surprisingly good business](https://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch1en/appl1en/panamarail.html)transshipping containers across the Isthmus. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/10 "2015-11-04T21:19:02Z")
Will the big carriers fit through after the upgrade? I have to wonder if the US Navy is subsidizing the work. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/11 "2015-11-04T22:00:36Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Will the big carriers fit through after the upgrade? I have to wonder if the US Navy is subsidizing the work. The _Nimitz_ has a length of 1092 ft and a beam of 252 ft at the flight deck level, but 1,040 and 134 ft at the waterline, with a draft of 37 ft. It can fit easily in the new lock chambers at the waterline, but the flight deck would extend past the edge of the locks. There could be a problem depending on the exact conformation of the locks and associated buildings. (I recall hearing that an aircraft carrier was able to transit the existing locks only by being canted slightly over to one side so that the flight deck would clear the control tower between the lock chambers.) ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/12 "2015-11-04T22:22:28Z")
I think it was the _Iowa_ class of WWII battleships that were specifically designed to (barely) fit through the old locks. A tight fit indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/13 "2015-11-04T23:21:29Z")
picture of USS Ronald Reagan in the straight of Magellan. [![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Magellan#/media/File:USSRONALDREAGANgoodshot.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Magellan#/media/File:USSRONALDREAGANgoodshot.jpg) I assume they went that route because they had to ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/14 "2015-11-04T23:37:45Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > … > > I assume they went that route because they had to That’s the truth. _Reagan_ has rounded South America, I believe, exactly once. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/15 "2015-11-04T23:51:29Z")
There’s also [the Nicaraguan Canal project](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaragua_Canal)which the Chinese announced they were going to take over and begin funding last year, but nothing much has come of that. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/16 "2015-11-05T11:29:20Z")
> [@bump](#): > > For example, US supercarriers don’t fit through the canal, and nor do a lot of large tankers and container ships. > > That said, it’s not a common trade route to go around Cape Horn- it’s probably easier to just find Panamax ships, or unload on the US West Coast and then go from there. Well, capesize bulkers are another large category, and they called that because they go around the Capes (Good Hope and Horn). Bulk cargoes tend to be non-time critical and they commonly go around the Horns. Panamax vessels can be inefficiently small, and unloading and reloading is far too expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/17 "2015-11-05T13:49:32Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > I think it was the _Iowa_ class of WWII battleships that were specifically designed to (barely) fit through the old locks. A tight fit indeed. [Yep.](http://blogs.dailybreeze.com/history/files/2014/10/AP01032802486.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/18 "2015-11-05T15:28:19Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > To get from Buenos Aires to Santiago they’d take the southern route? Or would they? They could portage across Costa Rica, if they have enough guys. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/19 "2015-11-05T15:43:10Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > I think it was the _Iowa_ class of WWII battleships that were specifically designed to (barely) fit through the old locks. A tight fit indeed. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Missouri_panama_canal.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Missouri_panama_canal.jpg) Canal width: 110 feet. \*Iowa \*class beam: 108 feet. So 1 foot to spare on either side of the ship. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640/20 "2015-11-05T15:56:23Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > I think it was the _Iowa_ class of WWII battleships that were specifically designed to (barely) fit through the old locks. A tight fit indeed. And _Essex_-class carriers had folding flight-deck elevators so they could fit through the canal. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-all-commercial-and-military-shipping-go-through-the-panama-canal-now/736640.md?page=2)