We woke at 3am this morning, excitement denying us sleep.
From our balcony the sea was like a highway. Lights from many vessels lit the otherwise dark sky. It was so exciting.
It reminded us of ‘waiting vessels’ that would stretch from (our previous home region) Newcastle, outside the heads down the southern coast as far as Catherine Hill Bay, waiting entry to the coal loader in Newcastle harbour, back in the day!

We knew we were now approaching the Panama Canal so we went back to bed hoping for a little more sleep before the full day ahead and the event I had been waiting all-cruise for, transiting the Panama Canal.

All vessels needing to transmit the canal are required to book their passage. Cruise ships have priority and so our QE booked her entry months prior. This meant our time schedule was known and we proceed directly, no waiting at sea for us.

We were advised that our pilot would come aboard at 5.15am and under his guidance we would approach the first of six lochs.
We were awake again at 5am, showered, dressed so we would be ready for the full day of activity, we didn’t want to miss anything.

Queen Elizabeth was built as a PANAMA ship, meaning she was built to specifications that enabled her to transit the Panama Canal. She has two feet clearance in the lochs, one foot either side! So tight and no margin for error, it’s amazing and what a feat of navigation.

Mega-ships, whether cruise or cargo, are now being built that exceed the PANAMAX limits and so a second set of canals/lochs have been built to accommodate those ‘mega’ ships. It sits along side the original and were opened in 2016.

At 5.45am we passed under the first bridge before the loch, Bridge of Americas and by 7.15am we were guided into the first of two chambers Miraflores Lochs.

When we were in position the first gate opens allowing water from the Pacific Ocean to flood the chamber.
Each vessel (no matter what size, PANAMAX, yacht, tinny or anything in between) is guided to the first loch, the gate opens to allow water to enter from the Pacific Ocean (sea level) . Sometimes if size fits, two vessels, ( like two yachts for instance) could enter the chamber together, one behind each other.

At some point after the pilot was on board and before we entered the first loch, linesmen boarded our ship and they are responsible for ‘line work’, not Cunard’s crew. They oversee the attaching of lines between the ship and the “mules|.
The lines from our ship are attached to four waiting “mules” (electric locomotives) that sit on tracks, two at the front and two at the rear.
Once we are in the chamber at sea level, the gate behind us closes and the gate in front slowly releases 26 million gallons of water, now the levels are equal (26 millon gallons beneath our keel,) the gate in front opens allowing the remainder into our chamber (now 52 millon gallons) sits beneath our keel. The ship has now risen allowing us to exit into the man-made lake.
You actually don’t feel this rise, it happens slowly but it is amazing.

We sail across the lake, it takes about two hours when the procedure is repeated at the next set of lochs into an even large lake until we reach the final loch when the procedure is reversed to bring us back to sea level (Atlantic Ocean).

A all-day commentary was broadcast via our television set in our Stateroom and visual camera that sits at the bow showed the many passengers standing against the rails for a up-close vigil of the operation.

It is interesting fact, that the lochs are not ‘bathtubs, like many think’, the same amount of fresh-water (52,000,000 gallons) is released for every vessel that enters each of the lochs.
The water does not ‘overflow’ the sides like a bathtub would if something larger was placed in it. The size of the vessel has no impact on the quantity of the water needed. I am sure Bahaa would know exactly how this calculation was made that ensures this passage happens.

It is a huge amount of fresh water and it was explained it has never been a problem of running out of water since it’s opening in August 15, 1915. It never will be an issue in the “original series of lochs” so the experts say, however the newer lochs built to allow passage of mega-ships has already faced a problem this year.

The fresh water storage is at an all-time low due to lack of rainfall in their ‘wet season’ last year. This has meant that restrictions have been placed on mega-ships for the first time. Ships of a certain tonnage/size are currently being denied entry. Authorities are hoping for a return to normal rainfall next season however there is no guarantee that will happen, such is the effect of our changing climate.

The landscape either side of the ship is virgin jungle, the area pristine. In the steepest section where the mountains are at the highest, the banks have been terraced so to avoid landslides, a huge problem when the canal was constructed.

Even the landscape around the lochs, though they are working ‘wharves’ in effect are tidy, and ordered. There is a ‘control station’ at each set of lochs and all the opening/closing of gates once operated manually with levers, is now computerised, and overseen by a team and along each section many personnel are keeping watch. There are cameras all along the set of canals, everything coming/going at every stage is monitored.

The manpower is massive, linesmen boarded our vessel prior to entering the first loch and they are responsible for lines attached to heavy mules that sit on tracks, manned, virtually towing our vessel through the loch, slowing the pace to allow the release of water, and then ascend on the track at the end of the vessel up above sea level to the second loch. It is incredible to watch the manoeuvre.
Never in my life did I ever expect I would have the opportunity to witness such an engineering feat and witness the transition.

At 10.15am we passed under our second bridge Centennial Bridge now into an even larger lake, and approached our last set of lochs at 2.30pm, then finally passing under the last bridge California Bridge before exiting again at sea level into the Caribbean Sea, part of Atlantic Ocean at 5.15pm.

The linesmen left our ship at this point, the pilot stayed another hour until we were clear of the navigational hazards in the channel just before we entered open sea.

What a day, I will always remember the thrill and amazement and the great opportunity we experienced.
Interesting info from our Captain,
” this is the last time QE will be transiting the Panama Canal for several years as she will be cruising Mediterranean-Pacific (including time in Australia) for the next few years.”
Cost of Transiting the Panama Canal
For our Queen Elizabeth the fee is about $418,000 for each transit.
For container ships it is much more, up to $1m-$1.2m,
Fees for mega-ships now using the wider canals/lochs upward $2-$4m for each transmit depending on the weight of their ship/cargo.

They average 30-35 ships per day through our set lochs,
Thirty one mega-ships each day , thereabouts use the new lochs.

No discounts are available for cruise ships and the like, however mega container shipping companies are given ‘volume’ discounts.

Panama and US manage operations. US has overall responsibility for the safety of the Panama Canal, threats etc, from whatever source. Maintaining the lochs is continual.
The PC is declared to be in International Waters so every vessel, having met the requirements is permitted to transit.
However, in the event of world threats of course, such offending vessels would be stopped well outside the canal!!!
What a wonderful experience, tomorrow a sea-day before we reach Aruba.