The Genius Technologies Behind Panama Canal Locks Moving World Largest Ships

foreign [Music] and welcome back to the fluctus channel for decades the only way to deliver goods from the Atlantic region to the Pacific was to navigate around the southern tip of South America [Music] this added thousands of miles and up to several weeks to each voyage thank you however in the 1880s the French began working on a canal through the narrowest section of Panama in Central America [Music] finished by the United States in 1914 the Panama Canal measured 51 miles long and featured numerous Innovative Technologies to this day the canal remains one of the most important waterways in the world allowing ships to bypass the long and treacherous Journey around South America foreign [Music] shipping companies billions and helps further facilitate international trade [Music] more than 14 000 ships roughly five percent of the world's shipping use the Panama Canal each year as this represents nearly 40 vessels a day the Panamanian government has set up several rules and regulations for moving through the canal for starters ships passing through the canal can be as long as 965 feet and as wide as 106 feet this vessel size is referred to as panamax [Music] foreign the draft or the amount of the vessel below the water line maxes out at just under 40 feet before arriving at the canal entrance a boat must make a reservation with the Panama Canal Authority [Music] the ACP will then provide information about the required documentation fees and other details to ensure safe Passage [Music] depending on how busy the canal is on a given day vessels can end up waiting anywhere from a few hours to a few days to enter the canal [Music] before this can happen a special Panama Canal pilot will board The Vessel [Music] these men and women are highly experienced Navigators who know the canal extremely well it's their job to help the captain navigate through the locks and other parts of the canal by far the most Innovative Technology Incorporated into the building of the canal is the lock system [Music] locks are series of water-filled chambers that use the power of water and gravity to lift and lower entire ships [Music] in the case of case of the mall Canal the locks raise each vessel from sea level to the elevation of Gatton Lake located in the canal Center [Music] in total there are three sets of twin locks each with two lanes for ships to pass through though these locks have been updated several times through the years they nonetheless function the same way they did back in the early 1900s first The Vessel approaches the entrance of the lock and enters the first chamber the lock Gates then closed behind the ship creating a watertight seal next controllers on Shore fill the lock with water or drain it depending on the current position of the ship [Music] The Vessel then moves forward until it reaches the second chamber altering its water levels to match [Music] this takes place several times throughout the ship's Journey [Music] essentially using nothing but gravity and the weight of water to move ships weighing tens of thousands of tons through the canal foreign the maximum width for ships moving through the Panama Canal is just a few feet less than the width of the locks themselves and even though the ships move very slowly when traversing the canal they could suffer serious damage if something were to go wrong for that reason tugboats play a crucial role in the process tugboats are specially designed ships that have been used for hundreds of years they sit very low on the water and feature engines capable of producing immense amounts of thrust at the Panama Canal tugboats are tasked with assisting ships as they maneuver through the locks and channels [Music] to do this they provide additional propulsion steering and braking power which helps ensure the ship stay on course and avoid colliding with the canal walls [Music] during the journey vessels will normally be accompanied by several tugboats oh [Music] the tugs use their powerful engines and bulbous frames to push and pull the larger ships into position [Music] the tug boats also help to position the ships in the locks keeping them centered and stable while the water levels rise and fall [Music] tugboats and guiding ships through the locks is a series of small electric locomotives known as mules the locomotives earned this name because they were initially powered by mules or donkeys but were later replaced by electric motors the mules are mostly used to keep the ship centered and prevent them from bumping into the walls of the narrow lock Chambers each ship that passes through the canal is Guided by four mules two on the bow and two on the stern the locomotives are attached to the ship by thick cables these help control the speed and direction of the ship as it traverses the most narrow sections of the lock [Music] throughout the process they communicate with one another in order to perfectly coordinate the movements of all four mules regardless of weather conditions and other circumstances locks were first invented in China back in 900 A.D [Music] eventually they made their way to Europe completely revolutionizing cargo and passenger transportation thank you [Music] the biggest Canal locks in the world can be found at the Port of Amsterdam in the Netherlands this strategically located porridge sits on the banks of the North Sea and remains one of the world's largest and most trafficked Port facilities since 1900 it has grown to cover 650 hectares of land and features 40 kilometers of quay walls the new lock known as the engine c-lock officially opened in 2022 [Music] actually consists of two separate locks mechanisms one in the north and one in the south [Music] former boasts a length of around 1600 feet and a width of 230 feet intended to help handle the ever-increasing traffic at the Port as well as larger cruise ships and cargo vessels the igemued in Sea lock is truly a masterpiece of engineering thank you the port of Amsterdam while not nearly as transformative for global Shipping as the Panama Canal sees around 80 percent of total cargo moving to and from Europe it's technically the fourth largest port on the continent but is also one of the most advanced the port is closely connected with the city of Amsterdam itself which is also famous for its many canals and channels [Music] in total the port employs around 70 000 people and operates 24 hours a day regardless of weather conditions support is also one of the first to begin utilizing green energy from wind turbines and plans to be 100 climate neutral by the year 2050. [Music] title of the largest seaport in Europe is reserved for Rotterdam which lies just south of Amsterdam foreign this massive facility covers 40 square miles though the facility boasts several large locks it's best known for the mazlon carrying Floodgate at more than 200 meters long and 22 meters high this gate is actually the largest moving structure in the world in the event of a storm or flood it can protect against waves up to 10 feet high [Music] as much of the areas surrounding the port lie below sea level this single Innovation protects millions of lives and billions of dollars worth of property while allowing maximum shipping traffic [Music] that's the end of this video I hope you enjoyed it make sure to subscribe to this channel so you don't miss any of our new content see you next time foreign

Channel: Fluctus

Views: 1,712,870

Keywords: Container Ship Panama Canal, Panama canal lock system, locks, how locks work, shipping locks, how the Panama canal works, Panama canal cargo ship, mules Panama canal, port of Amsterdam, Ijmuidan Sea Lock, sea lock Amsterdam port, sea gate Rotterdam, Rotterdam port, Maeslantkering flood gate

Id: yguo19qk8JY

Length: 15min 17sec (917 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 02 2023