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Canal Security News

05 Nov 2019

Maritime History & the Panama Canal

Grace Lines COLOMBIA transit of Panama Canal. Source: U.S.Merchant Marine Academy Maritime Museum.

The Panama Canal is a strategic crossroads for maritime traffic, and is arguably one of the most important maritime developments in the past century. Here we take a deeper dive into the history behind that famous strip of waterway.The present canal, which saw its first vessel transits in 1914, along with possible alternatives through Nicaragua and Mexico, had actually been on the minds of merchants, explorers and military/political strategists since the Age of Exploration in early 1500’s.

03 Aug 2015

Egypt Says Finishes Work on New Suez Canal

Photo: Suez Canal Authority

Egypt has finished building its New Suez Canal, its overseer said on Wednesday, a project President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi sees as a symbol of national pride and a major chance to stimulate an economy suffering double-digit unemployment. The army led work 11 months ago on the $8-billion canal, flanking the existing, 145-year-old waterway and part of a larger undertaking to expand trade along the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia. The Suez Canal is a vital source of hard currency for Egypt, particularly since the 2011 uprising that scared off tourists and foreign investment.

03 Apr 2014

Suez Canal Security Alert

Suez Canal transit: File photo

The US Coast Guard recently issued ‘Marine Safety Information Bulletin 04-14’ (MSI 04-14), which details a number of incidents in which threats and an alleged act of sabotage were perpetrated by Suez Canal Port Authority workers against the crews of ships which refused to provide them with cigarettes during their transit, informs The Standard P&I Club. Whilst the provision of cigarettes as a gratuity to Suez Canal workers is a well-known custom, threats and acts of sabotage are a new development. In the alleged incidents crew were threatened with harm and a fire was set onboard.

12 Sep 2013

Suez Canal Security: Nexus Consulting Recommends ...

Suez Canal Map: Image courtesy of Nexus

In light of the recent shipping vessel attack on the Suez Canal (Suez Canal Authority, August 31st, 2013), Nexus Consulting is announcing the release of recommendations for merchant vessels traveling through the canal. The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has noted that an attack on a commercial container ship (Cosco Asia) occurred on August 31, 2013, on the eastern side of the canal at El-Sharqiya (map attached) as the ship was transiting northbound. The ship has since cleared the…

19 Apr 2002

Panama Canal Security, Fees Set to Rise

In step with the rest of the maritime world, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) is making major investments to improve security and reduce the risk and vulnerability of its facilities. Because of these investments, though, which include expanding the Canal's electronic monitoring and tracking systems, a new fee will be assessed on all transiting vessels as of June 1, 2002. Among other things, improvements include adding new computerized systems and collecting data from all ships that arrive in Canal waters. The ACP is currently working on the Automatic Identification System (AIS), to be test- activated in 2002 and mandatory by July 2003. AIS will permit identifying and tracking all vessels before they enter Canal waters and during their transit.

25 Apr 2005

Panama Canal Security Plan

The Panama Canal Authority issued an Advisory stating that, effective May 1, container ships must have their General Arrangement Plans and Cargo Securing Manuals available upon arrival to be presented to Canal Authority boarding officers. Ships may submit electronic copies of their General Arrangement Plans in advance of arrival. Advisory 10-2005 (HK Law)

31 Aug 2007

Second Fleet Takes Final Step Toward JTF Certification

Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet begins the final step in its certification as a joint task force (JTF) headquarters Aug. 29, with the start of exercise Fuerzas Aliadas (FA) PANAMAX 2007. The multinational exercise will serve as the culminating exercise for 2nd Fleet's certification by U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM). It will be the first certification using USJFCOM's standardized certification model and the command's Joint Task Force Concept of Operations. “It is a privilege to be the first headquarters to participate in the certification process,” said Vice Adm. Marty Chanik, Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet. “We will be ready to apply the training should U.S.

10 Dec 1999

Panama Ready To Step Out On Its Own

As heads of state gather in Panama for Dec. 14 ceremonies in advance of the transfer of the Panama Canal on the Dec. 31, the small Caribbean nation of 2.8 million prepares to step out of Washington's shadow. Since the U.S.S. Nashville guaranteed Panama's independence from Colombia in 1903, the U.S. has maintained a military garrison in Panama and kept administrative control of the canal it built across the isthmus. For decades, Panamanian nationalists rallied to the cry of "one flag, one territory," calling the 10-mile (16 km)-wide U.S.-controlled Canal Zone a "stake through the nation's heart." But when that stake finally comes out at noon on Dec. 31 and the 50-mile (82 km) waterway passes to Panama's control, it will wake up to the challenge of full nationhood.

17 Dec 1999

Carter To Panama: 'It's Yours'

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter symbolically placed the Panama Canal into Panamanian hands last Tuesday with the simple words, "it's yours," granting the tiny Central American nation sovereignty over all its territory for the first time since its birth in 1903. "Today we are gathered in the spirit of mutual respect, acknowledging without question the full sovereignty of Panama," Carter told hundreds of Panamanian and foreign dignitaries gathered under a light rain at the Miraflores Locks at the Canal's Pacific entrance. In what Carter and Panama President Mireya Moscoso called a pivotal moment in the history of the hemisphere, the two leaders signed a symbolic accord marking the Canal's passage to Panama. Under the 1977 Panama Canal Treaties brokered by Carter, the U.S.