The ongoing Panama Canal expansion project has reached an important milestone in its aim to meet the expected traffic growth and meet with the requirements of the international freight and shipping community. A heavy lift barge has delivered the first in a series of eight huge lock gates for the Pacific side of the project. This first gate is the smallest on the Pacific side, nevertheless standing at 22 metres tall and weighing no less than 2,300 tonnes.
The the gates were shipped from Cristóbal, a port on the Atlantic side of the Canal, to Grupo Unidos por el Canal SA’s (GUPC SA) construction dock. The 105-foot wide barge, currently the largest capable of transiting the Canal, was towed by Panama Canal Authority (ACP) tugs and made the transit in only a single day.