They are nearly finished with the third locks (operation expected in 5 months). They are now contemplating a fourth set of locks, which would provide competiti

They are nearly finished with the third locks (operation expected in 5 months). They are now contemplating a fourth set of locks, which would provide competition with a pending Nicaragua supercanal at a small fraction of the price, and provide room for the sort of ships that are launching now. Cargo and cruise ships ships got very big, very fast this century amidst the sustained high oil prices. 20 years ago the record holder was around 5k TEU, the current Maersk Triple E, produced in quantity, runs 18k TEU. An 8" height difference seems fairly trivial in the broad scheme of things. This would be a very long canal. Far lesser ships navigate rivers against much steeper drops.