Panama Canal Commission News

Dr. Ricaurte Vásquez Morales was sworn-in during a ceremony held at the Panama Canal Administration Building in Panama City, becoming the fourth Panamanian Administrator of the waterway shortly before it celebrates its 20th year under Panamanian administration on December 31, 2019.Administrator Vásquez an economist with more than 30 years’ experience in the public and private sector said: "Just a few months short of the 20th anniversary of the transfer of the Canal to the Panamanian people, we face a distinctly different reality today. Trade now travels along different routes.""This new global reality, in which the Canal operates, requires us to redefine and adapt our business.

The Panama Canal Board of Directors announced the appointment of Ricaurte Vasquez as the next Panama Canal Administrator.According to a press note from the artificial 82 km waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, Vasquez will take office on September 4, 2019, succeeding current Administrator Jorge L. Quijano, who concludes his seven-year term at the helm of the waterway.The decision was made by the Board of Directors in accordance to an independent, transparent and rigorous process mandated by the Panamanian Constitution and Organic Law of the Panama Canal Authority."As part of the Panama Canal Authority's autonomous institutional process…

The U.S. Patent Office has  issued Patent s/n 9,056,655 to inventors Brandon Durar (JonRie Marine Winches) and Gregory Castleman (Castleman Maritime) for A Staple Torque Aligning Winch System for Escort Tugs. Naval architect Greg Castleman approached Durar in the winter of 2007 with the concept of a rotating fairlead for an escort winch which Durar presented the concept to rotate the winch and staple as a single unit. After JonRie completed conceptual engineering it was defined…

Top award acknowledges outstanding service in the Western Hemisphere. CEO of the Panama Canal Authority, Alberto Alemán Zubieta, will be awarded the Latin Trade BRAVO Business Award for Distinguished Service in the Hemisphere on October 28. With nine categories, including a Lifetime Achievement Award and Dynamic CEO of the Year, the BRAVO Business Awards are given to those playing a key role in improving Latin America’s economy, business and education. “I am humbled by this honor…

TranSystems, an engineering and consulting firm that provides integrated solutions for transportation infrastructure challenges to facilitate the movement of goods and people, announced the addition of Frederick (Rick) Ferrin to our Jacksonville, Fla., office. Ferrin brings 22 years of marine experience as both an engineer and port director. In his new role as Vice President, he will focus his efforts on developing business and serving the firm’s clients in the Southeast and Gulf Coast regions. Ferrin comes to TranSystems from the Jacksonville Port Authority where he served as CEO directing all facets of daily port administration, operations, planning, engineering, maintenance, finance, security, marketing and business development.

The Texas A&M University Zachry Department of Civil Engineering  awarded Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta with the 2009 Distinguished Graduates Award on April 8. Mr. Alemán Zubieta received the honor for his professional achievements to date, including his current role at the ACP, the autonomous government agency that manages the Panama Canal. Alemán Zubieta earned dual bachelor of science degrees in civil and industrial engineering in 1973 and since…

The Panama Canal will be run as a competitive business for the benefit of the Panamanian people after it reverts to national control at year's end, the waterway's administrator said. "The Canal was run before on a break-even concept, like a public utility," Panama Canal Commission (PCC) administrator Alberto Aleman Zubieta told a lunch for members of the American Chamber of Commerce. "But it will be run on the corporate concept of profitability ... for the 2.7 million Panamanians who will be its owners." Panama will become owner and operator of the canal at noon on Dec. 31, when the U.S. hands over the waterway as agreed in a 1977 treaty.

A feasibility study to safeguard Panama Canal water supplies into the 21st century is under way, the waterway's project manager said. "Studies of potential water projects are expected to take about 18 months," Panama Canal Commission's (PCC) Augustin Arias said, adding that actual development would take between and eight and 10 years. At the end of August, Panama's Legislative Assembly passed a law extending the current canal watershed by more than 60 percent to 213 sq. miles (553 sq. km), in anticipation of increased water demands. The canal, which handled 13,137 vessel transits and generated $569 million in tolls in fiscal 1999, relies on a constant supply of fresh water to operate three flights of gravity-fed locks. The newly designated "Western Watershed" covers an 82 sq. mile (213 sq.

Plans to safeguard Panama Canal operations from Y2K-related disruption are highly advanced, the waterway's administration said last week. The Panama Canal Commission (PCC) has implemented a five-phase U.S. federal government plan since 1996, to ensure that all date-sensitive computers and software applications are prepared for year-end glitches, Francisco Loaiza, Chief Information Officer at the PCC said. Following an inventory of computers, servers, information systems and "embedded equipment" - machinery like fax machines and VHS recorders that contain a microprocessor - all necessary network upgrades and replacements have been made, Loaiza said. All Canal administration PC networks have been tested, and validated systems have been put back into operation.

Dubbed "The Greatest Engineering Wonder of the World," the Panama Canal has experienced a whirlwind run since President Woodrow Wilson flicked a switch of the first gushes of water to flow through the 51-mile body of water that is arguably the most important shipping channel in world. It was 1914 and it was as though Central America and Europe — situated at opposite sides of the Atlantic — were worlds apart. For it was in the Central American country of Panama where workers from many nations joined forces to build the massive Panama Canal, while hostilities in Europe were quickly leading to WWI. Together, these workers, who came from all walks of life and all different backgrounds - all shared one dream - to be part of a piece of history that to this day…