Traffic and Capacity

A forecast of future vessel movements through the Panama Canal and a study of the important characteristics of this traffic indicate that 16,660 vessels of all types may be expected to transit a Panama canal in the year 2000. The average daily traffic would be 46 vessels; the peak-d ay traffic for which the canal should be designed is 69 vessels. By about 1960, the capacity of the present canal, during periods of lock overhaul, would be insufficient to accommodate traffic without undesirable delays on peak days. With modifications principally to eliminate the periodic need for closure of one of the twin locks for overhaul, the capacity of the present canal could be increased to meet all commercial requirements until the end of the twentieth century. Because of the limited size of the lock structures, certain large naval and commercial vessels would be unable to transit the canal.