When sailing from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, cruise ships transiting the Panama Canal first pass by old Fort Amador and Taboga Island before passing under the Bridge of the Americas. The long breakwater of Naos Island, a peninsula stretching 3/4 of a mile into the Pacific Ocean, was built using some of the 268 million cubic yards of excavated material removed during the construction of the Panama Canal. As the cruise ship continues into the Panama Canal, it will pass by the old town of Balboa before entering the first set of locks seen in this picture, the Miraflores Locks. Both Balboa and Fort Amador sit on 500 acres of landfill dirt removed to build the Canal.
Each of the locks is 33.53 meters wide by 304.8 meters long. The maximum dimensions of ships that can pass through the Panama Canal are: 32.3 meters in beam, 12 meters draft in tropical fresh water, and 294.1 meters long. Any ship that is the maximum size is called a "Panamax" ship. When you compare the width of the Panama Canal to the maximum ship's width, there's not much room on either side!
