Magellan Strait News

The First Woman to Sail Around the World

In 1765, a young, peasant woman left a remote corner of rural France where her impoverished family had scraped a living for generations. She set out on a journey that would take her around the world from the South American jungles and Magellan Strait to the tropical islands of the Indo-Pacific.Jeanne Barret (also Baret or Baré) was the first woman known to have circumnavigated the world. Abandoning her bonnet and apron for men’s trousers and coats, she disguised herself as a man and signed on as assistant to the naturalist…

First LNG Vessel Transits Expanded Panama Canal

Today, the Panama Canal marked another milestone with the transit of the first-ever liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier through its expanded locks. Shell-chartered Maran Gas Apollonia—measuring 289 meters in length and 45 meters in beam—arrived Monday from the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal on the U.S. Gulf Coast, signaling the arrival of the highly-anticipated segment to the waterway. “The transit of the first LNG vessel through the new Panama Canal locks is a milestone in the waterway’s history,” said Panama Canal Administrator and CEO Jorge L. Quijano. “LNG trade will greatly benefit from the Expansion, and we look forward to welcoming even more LNG vessels through our great waterway.