News

The $6 billion expansion of the Panama Canal is moving into its most dramatic phase with the installation of the giant locks. The typical lock is more than 30-feet high and weighs more than three tons.

The scale of the project is a reminder that the Panama Canal is one of the mechanical wonders of the world. It is a sophisticated engineering marvel, in addition to serving as an engine of commerce for the country.

But did you ever wonder how pilots navigate ships through the canal? It turns out it is a tricky process that requires special training in a school for maritime pilots. That school is in, of all places, the French Alps, specifically at a facility called Port Revel, near Grenoble.

The Panama Canal Pilot’s Association is sending pilots to the school to train how to handle the next generation of gigantic post-Panamax cargo ships, according to a fascinating article in Wired. The pilots train with miniature scale versions of the ships on a man-made lake.

“Port Revel’s oil tankers, container ships, cruise ships, and tugboats are meticulously crafted 1:25 scale models, complete with helm, electric engine, bow and stern thruster controls, mooring lines, and operational anchors,” according to the article.

The water action in the lake with 1:25 scale model ships helps mimic the effects pilots will feel on the bridge of the giant ships, the article explains. The school even has a replica of a lock in the Canal.

By using model boats on the waterways of the 13-acre facility, pilots have “the opportunity to practice skills in a way that’s more real than a computer simulator and less dangerous than taking control of a 70,000-ton ship with a stopping distance measured in miles,” according to Wired.

The program has been so successful, the Canal Authority is building its own training facility in Panama, using miniature ships on a lake.

Here is a great video on how it works:

Duncan McGowan is president of Punta Pacifica Realty, a Panama real estate agency focused on Punta Pacifica, the exclusive neighborhood of 18 towers perched on the edge of the Pacific Ocean