Widening of Panama Canal will remake world trade patterns
By Tim Johnson - PANAMA CITY, Panama — The nature of global trade is about to change. The Panama Canal will soon have a third lane that can accommodate mega-ships nearly three times larger than any vessel that has ever transited the isthmus over the past century. It might not seem like earth-shaking news. But the impact will ripple around the world, from shipyards in South Korea to highways in Texas to coalfields in Colombia and soy plantations in Brazil’s northeast. Entire nations will see trade patterns shift.
Ports up and down the U.S. Atlantic Seaboard -- including Port Manatee, which has dredged its Berth 12 to accommodate larger vessels -- are in a frenzied race to get ready for the larger, slower, more efficient ships that one day will ply the oceans. They are dredging harbors, expanding rail lines, taking a look at port facilities and distribution centers and, in the case of the New York City area, preparing to elevate the roadway on the Bayonne Bridge so that bigger vessels can slip underneath to Newark Harbor. “It’s been said that it’s a game changer. Yes, it is,” said Alberto Aleman, a Texas A&M-educated engineer who has been administrator of the canal for 16 years during a period in which the United States handed off control to Panamanian hands. (For The Full Story - Click This Link)
