The Panama Canal Authority is an entity of the Government of Panama created under Title XIV of the National Constitution, which is exclusively responsible for the operation, administration, operation, conservation, maintenance, improvement, and modernization of the Canal, as well as its related activities and services, in accordance with the legal constitutional provisions in force, so that the Canal may operate in a safe, continuous, efficient, and profitable manner.
Structure
The ACP is managed by an Administrator and a Deputy Administrator, under the supervision of an 11-member Board of Directors. The Administrator is the highest ranking executive officer, the legal representative of the entity responsible for its administration and for the execution of the policies and decisions of the Board of Directors. The Administrator is appointed for a seven-year term, after which he/she may be re-elected for one additional term.
The Canal uses a system of locks -compartments with entrance and exit gates. The locks function as water elevators: they raise the ships from sea level (either Pacific or Atlantic) to the level of Gatun Lake (26 meters above sea level); thus, the ships navigate through the Canal channel, in the Central Mountain Range of Panama.
The lock chambers are 33.53 meters wide by 304.8 meters long.
304.8 meters long. The maximum dimensions for ships wishing to transit through the Canal are: 32.3 meters wide; draft - depth it reaches - 12 meters of tropical fresh water; and 294.1 meters long (depending on the type of ship).
The Culebra Cut is the narrowest part of the Canal. It extends from the northern end of the Pedro Miguel Locks to the southern end of Gatun Lake in Gamboa. This segment, approximately 13.7 kilometers long, was excavated through rock and limestone of the Cordillera Central.
Ships from all over the world transit daily through the Panama Canal. Between 13,000 and 14,000 ships use the Canal every year. In fact, commercial transport activities through the Canal represent about 5% of world trade. .With the work of approximately 9,000 workers, the Canal operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, offering transit service to ships of all nations without discrimination.
The Panama Maritime Authority, an autonomous entity of the Panamanian State, was established by Decree Law No. 7 of February 10, 1998, which unified the maritime competencies previously held by the National Port Authority, the General Consular and Shipping Directorate of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, the General Directorate of Marine Resources of the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, and the Panama Nautical School of the Ministry of Education.
Investments resulting from the privatization and development of the ports exceed US$1 billion and the expansion, privatization and concessions plan continues in the Panamanian port system in both oceans (Atlantic and Pacific).
The Panama Maritime Authority promotes domestic and foreign investment and supports the development of the Multimodal Logistics Center with the operation of the Panama-Colon railroad, to provide greater operational efficiency to the Colon Free Zone.
The Panama Maritime Chamber was originally founded in 1960, in the city of Colon, as an informal association formed only by a small number of shipping companies that were dedicated to the care of ships transiting the Canal and those docking at the ports of Balboa and Cristobal, although the laws that governed at that time did not contemplate the development of commercial activities.
The Panama Canal Company realized, with the start-up of the Canal, that shipping companies were providing an indispensable service to ships passing through the interoceanic waterway and granted them certain commercial licenses to operate in the Canal Zone area.
More than 14,000 ships transit through the Panama Canal, which annually set in motion a whole series of related activities derived from the transit and docking of vessels at the ports. This is how the Panama Maritime Chamber opens the compass and extends membership to the various companies that fall into this category, thus supporting the development of collateral activities and strengthening the association with the participation of other sectors that have a great impact on the maritime transport chain.
More and more companies are joining every day, not only on behalf of ships in transit through the Canal, but also those related to port operations, terminals, land transportation and railroads, representing the legal circle and the flagging of Panamanian ships, in the search for the best conditions to strengthen the development and competitiveness of maritime activity in our country.