Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T16:05:07.987Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Acosta, O. (2016). Baroque: from simulation to practice. Revista Faro, Mayo – Junio 2016–96. (In Spanish)Google Scholar
Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (PCA). (2006a). Master Plan 2005–25. http://www.pancanal.com. Accessed July 2016. (In Spanish)Google Scholar
Autoridad del Canal de Panamá. (PCA). (2006b). Proposal for the Expansion of the Panama Canal. Third Set of Locks Project. April 24, 2006. pp. 34–38.Google Scholar
Cardoze, F. (1991). The challenge of the management of the Panama Canal. Panama: Impedisa. (In Spanish)Google Scholar
Carral, Couce L., Carral, Couce J. C. and Formoso J, Fraguela. (2015). Operation and handling of escort tugboats by means of automatic towing winch systems. The Journal of Navigation, 61, 143–163.Google Scholar
Carral-Couce, L., Naya, S., Álvarez Feal, C., Lamas Pardo, M. and Tarrío-Saavedra, J. (2016). Estimating the traction factor and designing the deck gear for the Anchor Handling Tug. Journal of Engineering for the Maritime Environment, In press.Google Scholar
Chen, X.N. (2010). From water entry to lock entry. Journal of hydrodynamics 9th International Conference on Hydrodynamics, 11–15 October, Shanghai, China.Google Scholar
Chevan, A. and Sutherland, M. (1991). Hierarchical Partitioning. The American Statistician, 45, 90–96.Google Scholar
Cullinane, K. and Khanna, M. (2000). Economies of scale in large containerships: Optimal size and geographical implication. Journal of Transport Geography, 8(3), 181–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flores, M., Naya, S., Fernández-Casal, R. and Tarrío-Saavedra, J. (2016), qcr: Quality Control Review, R package version 1.0. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=qcr Google Scholar
Grömping, U. (2006). Relative importance for linear regression in R: the package relaimpo. Journal of statistical software, 17(1), 1–27.Google Scholar
Hensen, H. (2003). Tug use in port – A practical guide. The Nautical Institute, London.Google Scholar
Huebner, G.G. (1915). Economic aspects of the Panama Canal. Am. Econ. Rev. 5 (4), 816–829.Google Scholar
Kimball, R.L. and Shepard, J.R. (1962). Marine Traffic Control in the Panama Canal. Journal of Navigation, 15(1), 52–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, J., Martin, S. and Pettit, S. (2015). Container ship size and the implications on port call Workload. International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics, 7(5), 553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Montero Llacer, F.J. (2005). The Panama Canal: operations and traffic. Marine Policy 29 (2005) 223–234.Google Scholar
Montero, F.J. (1990). The Panama Canal: Perfect Machine? Panamá: APEDE. (In Spanish)Google Scholar
Montgomery, D.C. (2007). Introduction to statistical quality control. John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Pagano, A., Wang, G., Sánchez, O., Ungo, R. and Tapiero, E. (2016). The impact of the Panama Canal expansion on Panama's maritime cluster. Maritime Policy & Management, 43(2), 164–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Port of Antwerp. (2016). Inauguration of the Kieldrecht lock. In http://www.portofantwerp.com/en/news/inauguration-kieldrecht-lock. Accessed July 2016.Google Scholar
Sabonge, R. (2014). The expansion of the Panama Canal. Impeller of changes in the International Trade. United Nations. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL). (In Spanish)Google Scholar
Stopford, M. (2009). Maritime Economics, Third edition. Oxford, Routledge.Google Scholar
Strucca, L. (2004). qcc: an R package for quality control charting and statistical process control, R News, 4, 11–7, http://CRAN.R-project.org/doc/Rnews/ Google Scholar
Texas A & M University. (1999). Vessel Positioning Project, June 1999 http://micanaldepanama.com/plan-maestro-2005-2025/plan-de-estudios/tecnico-y-de-ingenieria-esclusas/tecnico-y-de-ingenieria-esclusas/vessel-positioning-project/. Accessed july 2016.Google Scholar
Ungo, R., Sabonge, R. (2012). A competitive analysis of Panama Canal routes. Maritime Policy Management, 39(6), 555–570.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Venables, W.N. and Ripley, B.D. (2002). Modern Applied Statistics with S. Fourth edition. Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Venables, W.N., and Smith, D.M. (2008). The R development core team. An Introduction to R. Notes on R: A Programming Environment for Data Analysis and Graphics. Edited by Ockerbloom, John Mark. The on line books page. http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupid?key=olbp44950.Google Scholar