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Effect of Inaugurating the Third Set of Locks in the Panama Canal on Vessel Size, Manoeuvring and Lockage Time

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2017

Luis Carral Open the ORCID record for Luis Carral [Opens in a new window] ,
Javier Tarrío-Saavedra ,
Salvador Naya ,
Johnny Bogle  and
Rodolfo Sabonge
Luis Carral*
Affiliation:
(Universidade da Coruña)
Javier Tarrío-Saavedra
Affiliation:
(Universidade da Coruña)
Salvador Naya
Affiliation:
(Universidade da Coruña)
Johnny Bogle
Affiliation:
(Universidad Marítima Internacional de Panamá)
Rodolfo Sabonge
Affiliation:
(Universidad Marítima Internacional de Panamá)
*
(E-mail: [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The Panama Canal (PC) has recently been in the world spotlight. In August 2014, it celebrated 100 years of uninterrupted service and, in June 2016, the expansion project for the canal was inaugurated. The final project involved building a third set of locks. Once the canal started to operate, it could be seen that the way in which vessels transited the canal remained the same. However, the dimensions of locks and their revised operating procedures have had an effect on vessel size and the manoeuvres for the larger vessels. After the first transit on 26 June 2016, it was possible to have access to data on the new lockage systems for Neopanamax ships. The thorough statistical study of these new datasets (composed of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), multivariate regression and statistical quality control techniques) has shown the main drivers of transit time across the Cocolí and Agua Clara locks. It has also made it possible to test the learning curve of Panama Canal pilots in the newly expanded canal. The effects of pilot training on the time it takes to transit through the locks, direction of entry in each lock, the type of vessel, vessel dimensions and the use of different types of manoeuvres have been analysed. The results are used to characterise and help optimise the performance of this new and unique lock system.

Keywords

Panama Canal expansion projectLockageStatistical learningStatistical quality controlAnalysis of variance
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Navigation , Volume 70 , Issue 6 , November 2017 , pp. 1205 - 1223
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Navigation 2017 

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