MAJOR PORTS AND THERE

BUSINESS ON PANAMA CANAL

ILSCM Archit Marda
21139
 Introduction

The Panama Canal, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, is

perhaps the most crucial piece of infrastructure supporting the free
flow of international trade and goods in the western hemisphere.
Vessels passing through the lakes and locks travel approximately 77
km between the entrances of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans,
eliminating the lengthy and often precarious route around Cape Horn in
South Africa.
The waterway currently serves 140 routes, connecting 1,700 ports and
160 countries. The main user of the Panama Canal is the U.S., which
represents about 67 percent of the total cargo moving through the
waterway.
PANAMA CANAL ON WORLD MAP
 MAJOR PORTS OF PANAMA CANAL

Port of Balboa
Port of Colon
Port of Cristobal
Port of Manzanillo
Bocas Del Toro
Vacamonte
The Veracruz 
PORT OF BALBOA (ROOSEVELT, PANAMA)

Despite the conventional size, the Balboa terminal

handles 2.5 to 3 million TEUs. This capacity is up for
expansion, taking the terminal to 6.5 million TEUs.
Hence, the authorities plan to position it as one of
the mega-container ports in the region.
Cargo Handling
The cargo handling figures at Balboa in 2019 show
2.9 million TEU operations
Network and Layout
The layout of the approach has drafts varying
above 17.5 to 19 meters.
 PORT OF COLON (GORGAS, PANAMA)

The facility has figures over 4 million TEU, with 4.38

million TEUs for 2019. It is spread over an area
spanning over 74 hectares for operational and storage
needs.
Cargo Handling
Operations include major container giants such as
Hapag-Llyod and Evergreen. The turning radius is
spread across the basin radius of 600 meters to
accommodate the larger vessels.
Network and Layout
The PCR authority has spread its railway tracks worth
100s of kilometers surrounding the facility
 PORT OF CRISTOBAL (COLÓN,
PANAMA)
Build in 1800s at present, it is one of the biggest and
busiest in terms of international port calls in Panama.
The facility is spread over an area of slightly more than
140 hectares for its operations.
Cargo Handling
The channel depth at the Port of Cristobal goes up to
13.7 meters.The facility has a handling capacity of 2
million TEUs for the year. The authorities have a
design plan to increase this to 6.5 million TEU.
Network and Layout
Cristobal port has a total of 3700 meters+ alongside
length for the berthing and cargo operations.
PORT OF MANZANILLO (COLÓN, PANAMA)

The port of Manzanillo at the Atlantic side of Panama is of high

significance for the Atlantic-bound traffic. It is spread over an
extensive area of 58 hectares with another 100 in the pipeline
for expansion.
Cargo Handling
For the last decade, Manzanillo is handling over 140 thousand
ro-ro vehicles regularly. In addition, 1.9 to 2.1 million TEU
handling takes place within these terminals too. Their capacity
rating goes up to 3.5 million TEUs, placing them amongst the
biggest within the region.
Network and Layout
The layout for the alongside draft varies between 12 to 14.5
meters at the 6 container berths. This includes one berth going
as long as 1240 meters for container operations.
 CONCLUSION

 With their merchandise trade of 25 714 million USD,

Panama’s economic dependence on shipping is huge.
Despite having such few ports of significance, the country
sees 7 355 100 TEU average every year. This includes the
presence of two developing mega container ports for a
bright future.
 REFERENCES

 www.freightright.com
 www.searates.com
 www.marineinsight.com