Panamax

{{Main|Cargo ship#Size categories}}

File:Panama Canal watching clearance.jpg as she traverses the lock.]]

File:Panamax container ship.JPG]]

File:Missouri panama canal.jpg in October 1945.]]

Panamax is determined principally by the dimensions of the canal's original lock chambers, each of which is {{cvt|110|ft|m|1|abbr=on|order=flip}} wide, {{cvt|1050|ft|m|1|order=flip}} long, and {{cvt|41.2|ft|m|1|order=flip}} deep. The usable length of each lock chamber is {{cvt|1000|ft|m|1|order=flip}}. The available water depth in the lock chambers varies, but the shallowest depth is at the south sill of the Pedro Miguel Locks and is {{cvt|41.2|ft|m|1|order=flip}} at a Miraflores Lake level of {{cvt|54|ft|6|in|m|1|order=flip}}. The clearances under the Bridge of the Americas at Balboa, the Centennial Bridge near the Culebra Cut, and the Atlantic Bridge in Colon, are the three limiting factors on a vessel's overall height for both Panamax and Neopanamax ships; the exact figure depends on the water level.

The maximum dimensions allowed for a ship transiting the canal using the original locks and the new locks (New Panamax) are:

Overall (including protrusions): {{cvt|950|ft|m|1|order=flip}}. Exceptions:

• Container ship and passenger ship: {{cvt|965|ft|m|1|order=flip}}
• Tug-barge combination, rigidly connected: {{cvt|900|ft|m|1|order=flip}} overall
• Other nonself-propelled vessels-tug combination: {{cvt|850|ft|m|1|order=flip}} overall;

New Panamax increases the allowable length to {{cvt|366|m|ft|0}}.

Width over outer surface of the shell plating: {{cvt|106|ft|m|1|order=flip}}. General exception: {{cvt|107|ft|m|1|order=flip}}, when draft is less than {{cvt|37|ft|m|1|order=flip}} in tropical fresh water.

New Panamax originally allowed a width of {{cvt|49|m|ft|abbr=on|0}}. This was expanded to {{cvt|51.25|m|ft|abbr=on}} during June 2018.{{Cite web| url = https://www.marineinsight.com/videos/watch-largest-vessel-in-dimension-to-pass-through-expanded-panama-canal/ | quote = As of June 2018, the Canal increased the beam from 49 meters to 51.25 meters due to the training and experience acquired by the team during the operation of the neopanamax locks in almost three years. | publisher = Marine Insight| title = Watch: Largest Vessel In Dimension To Pass Through Expanded Panama Canal| date = 16 May 2019 }}

The maximum allowable draft is {{cvt|39.5|ft|m|2|order=flip}} in tropical freshwater (TFW). The name and definition of TFW is created by ACP using the freshwater Lake Gatún as a reference. The salinity and temperature of water affect its density, and hence how deep a ship will float in the water. The lake's water has a density of 995.4 kg/m³, at {{cvt|29.1|C|F|sigfig=2}}.{{cite web|url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/legal/reglamentos/navigation-compilation.pdf|title=Regulation on navigation in Panama Canal Waters|publisher=The Panama Canal Authority|page=10|access-date=2012-12-10|date=1999-06-03}} The physical limit is set by the lower (seaside) entrance of the Pedro Miguel locks. When the water level in Lake Gatún is low during an exceptionally dry season, the maximum permitted draft may be reduced. Such a restriction is published three weeks in advance, so ship loading plans can take appropriate measures.

New Panamax increases allowable draft to {{cvt|15.2|m|ft|1}}; however, due to low rainfall, the Canal Authority limited draft to {{cvt|43|ft|m|1|order=flip}} when the new locks opened in June 2016, increasing it to {{cvt|44|ft|m|1|order=flip}} in August, "based on the current level of Gatun Lake and the weather forecast for the following weeks."[http://www.joc.com/port-news/panama-canal-news/canal-adds-foot-maximum-draft-neo-panamax-locks_20160808.html Canal adds foot to maximum draft of neo-Panamax locks], Joseph Bonney, joc.com, Aug 08, 2016, Accessed December 11, 2016

Vessel height is limited to {{cvt|190|ft|m|1|order=flip}} measured from the waterline to the vessel's highest point; the limit also pertains to New Panamax in order to pass under the Bridge of the Americas at Balboa harbor.[http://www.pancanal.com/eng/maritime/notices/2010/N01-2010-r1.pdf OP NOTICE TO SHIPPING No. N-1-2010, Rev. 1 To: Steamship Agents, Owners and Operators Subject: Vessel Requirements] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204160054/https://www.pancanal.com/eng/maritime/notices/2010/N01-2010-r1.pdf |date=2021-12-04 }} page 4. 16 April 2010 www.pancanal.com, accessed 10 April 2021 Exception: {{cvt|205|ft|m|1|order=flip}} when passage at low water (MLWS) at Balboa is possible.{{Citation needed|date = January 2018}}

A Panamax cargo ship would typically have a DWT of 65,000–80,000 tonnes, but its maximum cargo would be about 52,500 tonnes during a transit due to draft limitations in the canal.{{citation | url = http://www.lr.org/Images/30%20ship%20sizes_tcm155-173543.pdf | title = Modern ship size definitions | publisher = Lloyd's register | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120224003817/http://www.lr.org/Images/30%20ship%20sizes_tcm155-173543.pdf | archive-date = 2012-02-24 }}. New Panamax ships can carry 120,000 DWT. Panamax container ships can carry {{TEU | 5,000| first=yes}}, with {{TEU | 13,000}} for New Panamax vessels.

The longest ship ever to transit the original locks was San Juan Prospector, now Marcona Prospector, an ore-bulk-oil carrier that is {{cvt|973|ft|m|order=flip}} long, with a beam of {{cvt|106|ft|m|order=flip}}.{{citation | url = http://rainforest.montclair.edu/pwebrf/rainforest/Region/panama.html | title = Background of the Panama Canal | publisher = Montclair State University | access-date = 2006-02-08 | archive-date = 2009-04-21 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090421093916/http://rainforest.montclair.edu/pwebrf/rainforest/Region/panama.html | url-status = dead }} The widest ships to transit are the {{Sclass|South Dakota|battleship (1939)|4}} and {{Sclass|Iowa|battleship|4}} battleships, which have a maximum beam of {{cvt|108|ft|2|in|order=flip}}, leaving less than {{cvt|6|in|cm|order=flip}} margin of error between the ships and the walls of the locks.{{cite web|title=BB-61 Iowa-class|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/bb-61-specs.htm|access-date=4 January 2014}}

Major Panamax bulk trade routes include Brazil to China, Australia to China, U.S. to China, China to China, and Australia to India.{{cite web|title=Top Five Panamax Bulk Trades|date=7 February 2017 |url=https://www.marinelink.com/news/panamax-trades-bulk421756|access-date=16 February 2022}}

{{Main|Panama Canal expansion project}}

As early as the 1930s, new locks were proposed for the Panama Canal to ease congestion and to allow larger ships to pass. The project was abandoned in 1942.

On October 22, 2006, the Panama Canal Authority (with the support of the Electoral Tribunal) held a referendum for Panamanian citizens to vote on the Panama Canal expansion project. The expansion was approved by a wide margin, with support from about 78% of voters. Construction began in 2007, and after several delays, the new locks opened for commercial traffic on 26 June 2016.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/06/26/world/americas/ap-lt-panama-canal-expansion.html?ref=world&_r=0 | title=Panama Canal Opens $5B Locks, Bullish Despite Shipping Woes | agency=Associated Press | work=The New York Times | date=2016-06-26 | access-date=2016-06-26}}

{{anchor|New Panamax|Neo-Panamax|Neo-panamax}}

Construction of another set of larger locks led to the creation of the "Neopanamax" or "New Panamax" ship classification, based on the new locks' dimensions of {{cvt|427|m|ft|0}} in length, {{cvt|55|m|ft|0}} in beam, and {{cvt|18.3|m|ft|1}} in depth. Naval architects and civil engineers began taking into account these dimensions for container ships.{{citation |url = http://www.manbw.com/files/news/filesof4672/Propulsion_trends_in_container_vessels.pdf |title = Propulsion Trends in Container Vessels |publisher = MAN B&W Two-stroke Engines |access-date = 2009-04-30 |archive-date = 2008-11-17 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081117002527/http://www.manbw.com/files/news/filesof4672/Propulsion_trends_in_container_vessels.pdf |url-status = dead }}. With the new locks, the Panama Canal is able to handle vessels with overall length of {{cvt|366|m|ft}}, {{cvt|49|m|ft}} beam (increased by the Canal Authority effective 1 June 2018 to {{cvt|51.25|m|ft}}, to accommodate ships with 20 rows of containers) and {{cvt|15.2|m|ft}} draft, and cargo capacity up to {{TEU|14,000|first = yes}};{{cite web|title=Panama canal expansion, reordering maritime trade|url=https://www.cma-cgm.com/media/magazine-article/48/panama-canal-expansion-reordering-maritime-trade|publisher=CMA CGA|access-date=9 October 2017}} previously, it could only handle vessels up to about {{TEU | 5,000}}.{{citation | chapter-url = http://www.rickmers-maritime.com/fleet/MAERSK%20DJIBOUTI_RM.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110715183648/http://www.rickmers-maritime.com/fleet/MAERSK%20DJIBOUTI_RM.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2011-07-15 | chapter = 'Maersk Djibouti' 5,000 TEU container ship | title = Fleet | publisher = Rickmers Maritime }}. The Neopanamax standard accommodates ships up to 120,000 DWT.{{cite web|title=The New Panamax; 13,200-TEU Containership, 120,000 dwt Bulk Carrier|date=12 September 2012|url=http://shippingresearch.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/the-new-panamax-13200-teu-containership-120000-dwt-bulk-carrier/|access-date=4 January 2014}}

{{Globalize|date=February 2024}}

File:Bayonne Bridge 2 deck with ship.agr.jpg in New York harbor was increased to accommodate New Panamax ships by building a new, higher roadway inside the arch and then removing the lower roadway.]]

File:Bayonne bridge with higher clearance DSCN3425 (35449151160).jpg

Several ports, including the ports of New York and New Jersey, Norfolk, and Baltimore, all on the East Coast of the United States, have already increased their depth to at least {{cvt|50|ft|m|order=flip}} to accommodate New Panamax ships; in 2015 the Port of Miami achieved the same in a project known as the "Deep Dredge"{{cite web|title=Bill Johnson, Director of the Port of Miami, presented on the Port of Miami's Deep Dredge Project to the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce's…|url=http://www.dredgingtoday.com/2010/11/24/usa-port-of-miami%E2%80%99s-deep-dredge-project-to-boost-economic-growth/|access-date=4 January 2014|archive-date=21 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121104244/https://www.dredgingtoday.com/2010/11/24/usa-port-of-miami%E2%80%99s-deep-dredge-project-to-boost-economic-growth/|url-status=dead}} and is the closest deepwater port to the Panama Canal in the US. In 2017, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey raised the clearance of the Bayonne Bridge to {{cvt|215|ft|m|order=flip}}, at a cost of $1.7 billion, to allow New Panamax ships to reach container port facilities at Port Newark–Elizabeth Marine Terminal.{{cite web|url=https://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/bayonne-navigational-clearance-project.html|title=Navigational Clearance Project - Bayonne Bridge - The Port Authority of NY & NJ|website=www.panynj.gov|access-date=2018-02-04|archive-date=2018-10-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007013729/http://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/bayonne-navigational-clearance-project.html|url-status=dead}} Previously, only GCT Bayonne, Global Container, could handle the New Panamax ships.

As of April 2012, a controversy between Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, over limited federal funding for dredging/deepening projects—including both state and federal lawsuits filed by environmental groups in both states opposing the techniques planned to be used in dredging the Savannah River—also revolves around attracting the business of carriers whose fleets include New Panamax vessels. Jacksonville, Florida, is pursuing its "Mile Point" project with the prospect of deepening the St. John's River in anticipation of Post-Panamax traffic; Mobile, Alabama, has completed the deepening of its harbor to {{cvt|45|ft|m|order=flip}} for the same reason; and other ports seem likely to follow suit.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}

The American conservative think tanks The Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute have cited the Foreign Dredge Act of 1906 as a factor in constraining American dredging capacity for expanding ports to accommodate post-Panamax ships.{{cite web |last1=Loris |first1=Nicolas |title=This 113-Year-Old Law Is Hurting American Ports |url=https://www.heritage.org/trade/commentary/113-year-old-law-hurting-american-ports |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802212409/https://www.heritage.org/trade/commentary/113-year-old-law-hurting-american-ports |url-status=unfit |archive-date=August 2, 2019 |access-date=23 August 2022 |website=Heritage.org |publisher=The Heritage Foundation}}{{cite web |last1=Grabow |first1=Colin |title=To New Critics of the Foreign Dredge Act: Welcome Aboard! |url=https://www.cato.org/blog/highlighting-catos-work-foreign-dredge-act |access-date=23 August 2022 |website=Cato.org |publisher=Cato Institute |date=2022-04-29}}{{Cite web |last=Tosi |first=Gregory |date=2021-03-19 |title=How to Make US Ports Competitive Again {{!}} RealClearPolicy |url=https://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2021/03/19/how_to_make_us_ports_competitive_again_768823.html |access-date=2022-08-23 |website=www.realclearpolicy.com |language=en}}

Liverpool built a new container terminal, Liverpool2, where ships berth in the tidal river rather than in the enclosed docks, coinciding with the opening of the widened Panama Canal locks. In Halifax, Canada, a major expansion of the South End Container Terminal was completed in 2012, extending the pier and increasing the berth depth from {{convert|14.5 to 16|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}}.{{cite news|last1=Power|first1=Bill|title=$35m port terminal project nearing completion|work=Halifax Chronicle-Herald|date=13 February 2012}}

The port of Salina Cruz, in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, has been expanded to obtain the capacity to receive Post Panamax ships.{{cite journal|first=Axel|last=Sabanero|title=Tren del Istmo: estos son los buques masivos que llegarán al puerto de Salina Cruz|journal=Radio Fórmula|date=13 February 2024|language=es|url=https://www.radioformula.com.mx/nacional/2024/2/13/tren-del-istmo-estos-son-los-buques-masivos-que-llegaran-al-puerto-de-salina-cruz-801857.html|access-date=14 February 2024}} This expansion forms part of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT) project which the Mexican government has been executing since 2019. This expansion, which began in January 2022,{{cite journal|first=Pedro|last=Silva Alanis|title=Tren interoceánico, al 90%; muelle de Salina Cruz, al 30%|journal=El Imparcial de Oaxaca|date=2 September 2023|language=es|url=https://imparcialoaxaca.mx/oaxaca/798764/tren-interoceanico-al-90-muelle-de-salina-cruz-al-30/|access-date=February 14, 2024}} consists of the creation of a new port with an access depth of {{cvt|24|m|ft}}, a {{cvt|1600|m|ft}} long breakwater and a {{cvt|300|m|ft}} wide mouth.{{cite journal|first=Fabian|last=Pamplona|title=Corredor Interoceánico: Semar informa sobre avances en los puertos de Coatzacoalcos, Salina Cruz, Chiapas y Dos Bocas|trans-title=Interoceanic Corridor: the Secretariat of the Navy reports on progress on the ports of Coatzacoalcos, Salina Cruz, Chiapas and Dos Bocas|journal=Diario del Istmo|date=October 17, 2023|language=es|url=https://diariodelistmo.com/nacional/corredor-interoceanico-la-marina-informa-sobre-los-avances-en-puertos-de-coatzacoalcos-salina-cruz-chiapas-y-dos-boca/50445273|access-date=February 14, 2024}} This new port is planned to be inaugurated on February 26, 2024. Between January 2020 and June 30, 2023, the government spent over 3.8 billion Mexican pesos to this expansion. The project's goal is to create a land-based route alternative to the Panama Canal, which has faced complications in recent years due to intense droughts. However, the port of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, is still {{cvt|12|m|ft}} deep, but it has nonetheless been subjected to expansion and modernization to efficiently transport cargo.{{cite journal|first=Jose|last=Ríos|title=Corredor Interoceánico: ¿cómo son los buques que llegarán a Salina Cruz?|trans-title=Interoceanic Corridor: what are the characteristics of the ships which will arrive at Salina Cruz?|journal=Diario del Istmo|date=February 13, 2024|language=es|url=https://diariodelistmo.com/nacional/corredor-interoceanico-como-son-los-buques-que-llegaran-a-salina-cruz/50490434|access-date=February 14, 2024}}

File:Container Ship CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt in NY Harbor on Sept 7, 2017 (36415318053).jpg

Due to the expansion, demand for Old Panamax ships has plummeted, resulting in ships being traded at scrap value. Some ships only seven years old have been sold for scrap,{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38653546|title=Why a ship worth $60m was sold as scrap|first=Jamie|last=Robertson|work=BBC News|date=1 March 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.joc.com/maritime-news/ships-shipbuilding/maersk-scrapping-eight-panamax-ships_20161219.html|title=Maersk scrapping eight Panamax ships|website=www.joc.com|date=19 December 2016 }} and others have been widened.Lutz Müller, Olaf Doerk: Verbreiterung von Panamax-Containerschiffen. In: Schiff & Hafen, Vol. 8/2017, pp. 12–17

File:Ship measurements comparison.svg of Panamax and Neopanamax with some other sizes in isometric view]]

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Post-Panamax or over-Panamax denote ships larger than Panamax that do not fit in the original canal locks, such as supertankers and the largest modern container and passenger ships. The first post-Panamax ship was the RMS Queen Mary, launched in 1934, built with a {{cvt|118|ft|m|order=flip}} beam as she was intended solely for North Atlantic passenger runs. When she was moved to Long Beach, California, as a tourist attraction in 1967, a lengthy voyage around Cape Horn was necessary.

{{cite book

|title=Tramp to Queen: The Autobiography of Captain John Treasure Jones

|publisher=The History Press

|year=2008

|isbn=978-0752446257

}} The first post-Panamax warships were the Japanese Yamato-class battleships, launched in 1940.{{cite web|title=Yamato Class Battleship – Japan (Pacific 1940)|url=http://www.historicalboardgaming.com/Yamato-Class-Battleship--Japan-Pacific-1940_p_108.html|access-date=4 January 2014}} Until World War II, the United States Navy required that all of their warships be capable of transiting the Panama Canal. The first US Navy warship design to exceed Panamax limits was the {{Sclass|Montana|battleship}}, designed circa 1940 but never built. The limit was specifically removed by the Secretary of the Navy on 12 February 1940, with the (never-realized) prospect of a new set of {{cvt|140|ft|m|order=flip}} wide locks to be built for the Canal.{{cite book | last = Friedman | first = Norman | author-link = Norman Friedman | title = U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History | publisher = Naval Institute Press | year = 1985 | location = Annapolis, Maryland | page = [https://archive.org/details/usbattleshipsill00frie/page/n340 332] | url =https://archive.org/details/usbattleshipsill00frie| url-access = limited | isbn = 978-0-87021-715-9 }} The {{Sclass|Essex|aircraft carrier}}s were designed with a folding deck-edge elevator to meet Panamax limits; the limit did not apply to subsequent US aircraft carriers."70 years of schemes to improve and enlarge the Panama Canal", p. 1 (Essex-class aircraft carriers were the "last fleet carriers capable of passing through the canal’s original locks"). The paper is linked from Dr. Roger's website, [http://web.mst.edu/~rogersda/Panama-Canal-2012/ Panama Canal], web.mst.edu, accessed 10 April 2021

{{portal|Panama|Transport}}

• Cargo ship sizes: Handymax, Panamax, Suezmax, Capesize
• List of Panamax ports
• Suezmax
• Q-Max
• Malaccamax
• Seawaymax

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{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.marineinsight.com/marine/types-of-ships-marine/different-types-of-tankers-extensive-classification-of-tanker-ships/ Tanker ships]
• [http://maritime-connector.com/wiki/ship-sizes/ Ship sizes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503010753/http://maritime-connector.com/wiki/ship-sizes/ |date=2021-05-03 }}
• [http://maritime-connector.com/wiki/panamax/ Panamax and New Panamax] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212102147/http://maritime-connector.com/wiki/panamax/ |date=2015-12-12 }}

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