Last four lock gates arrive to complete expansion of Panama Canal

THE Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has hailed the arrival of the final shipment of gates for the new locks to complete the expansion of the canal.

"This is a major milestone for the Panama Canal expansion since we now have all 16 rolling gates [eight for each new lock complex] in Panama to be installed in the new locks," said Panama Canal administrator Jorge Quijano. 

The last four gates to arrive were transported on board a post-Panamax vessel owned by Cosco, after a 25-day voyage from Trieste. They are to be kept at a temporary dock located in the Atlantic side. 

The final shipment included two gates to be used in the Atlantic and two in the Pacific. 

The two gates to be installed in the Pacific locks are the tallest of all 16, standing 33 metres in height and weighing 4,232 tons. The two gates for the Atlantic locks are 10 metres wide, 29 metres in height and weigh 3,319 tons. All the gates have the same length of 57.6 metres.

The gates belonging to the Pacific have been transiting one by one through the current waterway on board a barge assisted by two tugs. Currently, four of the eight gates have already been transferred to the construction site in the Pacific. 

The gates were delivered to Panama in staggered shipments of four at a time. The first gate shipment arrived in August 2013. The second and third shipment arrived in June and September 2014.