UKC

Its only a stretch of water, but how important is it?
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/panama-canal-hits-100th-birthday-06245236...

In reply to The Lemming:

A man, a plan, a canal ...

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:


That cost 28,000 lives. Quite staggering!

In reply to The New NickB:

Yes, it almost defies belief.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Yo, banana boy!

In reply to ThunderCat:

You're obviously just playing Dr. Awkward now or, dammit, I'm mad.

Better stop this before thread goes outa control

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Go hang a salami, I'm a lasagna hog

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

Are we not drawn onward to new era?

In reply to ThunderCat:

Wow!

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

OOOOOooooo!

(I'll stop now...going to bed)

In reply to The New NickB:

Are you suggesting the cost was too high Nick?

In reply to The Lemming:

Nurse I spy gypsies run

In reply to stroppygob:

I am suggesting that it is a staggering loss of life for a commercial enterprise, well any enterprise really, at least through modern eyes. The French obviously thought the cost was too high. The Americans considered their completion of the project a success, with only 10% of the workforce dying.

In reply to The New NickB:

Fair comment, I was just wondering.

In reply to The Lemming:

Much of the goods you use or buy from the far east come through the canal. Probably your PC and mine too.

In reply to Dave Perry:
I'm not sure about that Dave, I think the Suez sees more UK/EU goods than the Panama does. Remember the Marco Polo arriving in the UK a few years back with the nation's Christmas shopping aboard?

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/oct/30/christmas.shopping

The Marco Polo has a beam of 175 ft, the Panama Canal has a max width (at the moment) of 110 ft. Have a search of the USN Iowa class transitting the canal - specifically designed to have 12 inches clearance each side when passing through the locks.

Other than the width - which granted is only an issue for the largest ships - there is also the distance to be taken into account.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-11/maersk-line-to-dump-panama-canal-f...

This suggests there may not be much in it but who knows what routes container ships are taking and where they are dropping off cargo enroute etc?

There was a documentary about the Panama on PBS a few months ago, a massive project then as it would be now - there was something I read recently about the Chinese building an alternative canal through Nicaragua but I haven't seen much else on the subject.

In reply to The Lemming:

Birdie Num Num Mun Mun eidrib