Panama Canal will open in April despite leaking problems

Jorge Quijano, Panama Canal Chief communicated this week that the Canal’s new locks will open just as scheduled in April 2016. After the discussion in Copenhagen at the Danish Maritime Forum, “It hasn’t been easy,” were his words before mentioning that the work was 95% done.Gatun lock pool Panama Canal

The new locks will allow 14,000 TEU cargo ships a few months after opening, in order to test the locks and gradually increase the size of cargo ships transiting through the Canal. This allows time for ports to expand their capacity in traffic and transshipment in equipment, space and dredge their harbors.
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Virginia, Baltimore and Miami have 50 feet of deepness on the East Coast.  On the other hand, New York/ New Jersey has almost finished deepening 50 feet in their main terminals. Savannah will finish its harbor to 47 feet in 2018. The most capable port is Canada’s Port of Halifax that had a naturally 55 foot channel with 53 feet depth. {MHL}