Panamax

After one hundred years in service, the Panama Canal still is one of the most important and impressive engineering achievements in modern times. Built in 1914, it held a prominent role in the deployment of military vessels during WWI and in the conflicts that have followed. Nowadays commercial usage is the core business of the Canal; its economic impact is profound and has not only developed the region, but in fact helped define shipping throughout the world. In the wake of the Canal’s opening hull designs were influenced accordingly; ships fell into three categories, those that could …