Just like the saying, Rome was not built in a day; the same can be said of the Panama Canal which is the realization of a dream that has seen two stages of construction amidst heavy losses. To put it simply, the idea of splitting two continents was incredible, but the benefits to create a safe passage for ships along a stretch of 77 miles would save time and mileage when traveling between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean, and vice versa.
The first stage of construction found itself grinding to a screeching halt as due to issues with funding as well as diseases such as malaria and yellow fever which resulted in several workers dying or needing to be hospitalized.
However, the second stage of the construction took adequate measures to deal with these illnesses as well, and under the strict supervision of the Army and adequate funding managed to complete the canal by August 15, 1914.
This modern miracle creates a safe and shorter passage for about a thousand ships annually since the time of its opening in 1914 to about 15000 ships annually as accounted for to date making it one of the most routes used by the international maritime industry, and completely exceeding the capacity which the engineers has in mind when it was built.
The Panama Canal Authority decides the toll to be paid according to the type and size of the vessel as well as the type of cargo it carries, as well as accommodates ships that are of a particular size known as Panamax ships, determined by the dimensions of the lock chambers and the depth of the water in the canal.
