Keep in mind that the locks of the Panama canal are getting bigger. By 2015 a new set of locks will increase capacity of the canal and also allow ships that are

Keep in mind that the locks of the Panama canal are getting bigger. By 2015 a new set of locks will increase capacity of the canal and also allow ships that are up to 60% wider (55m), 33% longer (427m), and with 45% deeper draft (18m) to pass through. Granted, even that size is not large enough to accommodate a monster like a Maersk triple-E class container ship (which is 59m wide and has too deep a draft to dock anywhere in the Americas), but the vast majority of the largest container ships in the world (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_container_ships http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_container_ships) will fit (91 out of 100 by my count). Whereas none of the ships on that list could pass through the current locks in the Panama canal.