Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is an 82-kilometre artificial waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean Sea) to the Pacific Ocean through the Isthmus of Panama. Construction was completed by the United States in 1914 under the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903, which granted the US a 10-mile-wide Canal Zone in perpetuity. The Torrijos–Carter Treaties of 1977 provided for a phased transfer of canal operations to Panama; full Panamanian sovereignty over the canal took effect on December 31, 1999, when the Panama Canal Authority (Autoridad del Canal de Panamá, ACP) assumed control. The canal handles approximately 5% of global maritime trade (around 14,000 vessels annually), is critical for US East Coast–Asia container traffic, and is particularly important for LNG, grain, and container shipments. A major canal expansion (completed 2016) added a third lane to accommodate New Panamax vessels, doubling capacity.