{"id":7456,"date":"2004-08-16T06:13:17","date_gmt":"2004-08-16T06:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pancanal.com\/en\/?p=7456"},"modified":"2021-09-11T05:32:45","modified_gmt":"2021-09-11T05:32:45","slug":"panama-canal-turns-90","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pancanal.com\/en\/panama-canal-turns-90\/","title":{"rendered":"Panama Canal Turns 90"},"content":{"rendered":"

August 15, 1914 Marked the Realization of a Dream Held for Four Centuries<\/em>
\nFour Years of Panamanian Stewardship Brings Increased Reliablity<\/em><\/p>\n

PANAMA CITY, Panama, August 16, 2004 –\u00a0<\/strong>A dream held for more than four centuries became a reality August 15, 1914, when the SS Ancon made history as the first vessel to cross the Isthmus of Panama. The vessel traveled from the Atlantic entrance of the Canal at the Port of Cristobal at 7:10 a.m. through the fifty mile stretch of the waterway to the Port of Balboa, located at the Pacific Ocean entrance. \u201cSo quietly did she pursue her way that \u2026 a strange observer coming suddenly upon the scene would have thought that the Canal had always been in operation, and that the Ancon was only doing what thousands of other vessels must have done before her,\u201d wrote John Barrett in The Opening of the Panama Canal (published in the Bulletin of the Pan-American Union) of a passenger on board the vessel.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, the Panama Canal celebrated its 90th anniversary. Since that momentous day in August of 1914, the Canal has continued to play a critical role in global trade. The importance of the Canal continues to grow – the All-Water Route (from Asia to the East Coast of the United States and back) is considered vital and one of the fastest-growing trade routes.<\/p>\n

Canal historian Ira Bennett, as quoted in David McCullough\u2019s The Path Between the Seas, wrote, \u201cStrongly as the Panama Canal appeals to the imagination as the carrying out of an ideal, it is above all things a practical, mechanical and industrial achievement.\u201d The Canal set the standard and was the \u201cworld\u2019s first\u201d of a great many things: the world\u2019s largest dam, the world\u2019s greatest man-made lake and the world\u2019s highest locks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an honor and a privilege to be part of the Panama Canal; its construction is one of the greatest achievements in history,\u201d said Administrator Alberto Alem\u00e1n Zubieta. \u201cI, personally, take great pride in our employees who have devoted so much time and energy to the Canal. Today, we remember what began here 90 years ago; we remember the past, the ingenuity and the sacrifice. So many people gave their lives for this noble cause. We look forward to the next 90 years; great things are yet to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Readying itself for the future, the Panama Canal seeks to maintain its commitment to the maritime industry while providing the best value for its customers. Recent and ongoing projects include:<\/p>\n