Panama - Panama Canal - Passing Through the Locks

Ships pay a toll to transit the Panama Canal primarily based on the size of the ship. The Bulkizmir, the Turkish coal freighter that I was on as we cruised the Canal was 106 feet wide and 750 feet long. At the time I went through the Canal, the toll for this ship was about $82 thousand. The size of the lock chambers is 110 feet wide and 1000 feet long. Our ship just barely fit! You could have easily hopped from the ship to the side of the lock as we passed through. The pictures below and on the next two pages show the locks in action as we sailed through them VERY SLOWLY. Note the ship on the left. It is the same one we were following on Lake Gatun. It is also going North to South (Caribbean to Pacific) through the locks. See the next picture for a closer look at the locks.