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Progress on the Panama Canal
After some clear threats from Trump to Panama due to its having allowed Chinese influence to threaten the security of the Panama Canal, real changes have been made. Trump said that we foolishly gave the canal to Panama, not to China, and that we would take it back unless China was ousted.
The Hong Kong company C. K. Hutchison Port Holdings has managed the Cristobal and Balboa ports at each end of the Canal since 1997, and it recently signed a 25-year extension. Panama had also joined the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in which China loaned money to countries to build infrastructure but often trapped them with debt payments and Chinese surveillance.
Sec. State Rubio traveled to Panama in early February to repeat Trump’s threats in person. On 6 February, Panama pulled out of BRI, giving China the required 90-day notice, despite China urging Panama to ignore Trump’s threats. Panama eliminated the fees for US naval vessels to transit the Canal.
Panama also started an audit of C. K. Hutchison’s activities in China and requested its Supreme Court to declare the extension unconstitutional. Meanwhile, Black Rock organized a $23 billion buyout of Hutchison’s interest in the port management contract. Black Rock is a money manager, not a port operator, so the Italian port operator Terminal Infrastructure, Ltd. is included in the buyout consortium. TIL is owned by the Italian Aponte family, which also owns the global shipping giant MSC. Hutchison’s emerging legal problems in Panama were an incentive to divest.
America has grumbled about Chinese influence over the Panama Canal for more than two decades. But Trump kicked the Chinese out and brought management of the ports back under American control just four months after he was elected.
Published in General
Maybe. How do we know all this?
Maybe I should check to see if Sal Mercogliano has a recent update. He’s pretty good about staying on top of issues on this general topic.
Or is that where you got your information?
Well, the New York times, AP, and Washington Post have had the story up in the last few hours. I figured you might need a conglomeration of the mainstream media to believe that this is happening. You could also do a Google search yourself and find it in about 5 seconds.,
Thank you for answering the question. That’s all I needed to know.
The Panama Canal is only part of what is going on here.
80% of the ship-to-shore (STS) cranes for loading/unloading ships in US ports are manufactured by Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC), a Chinese company. The port at Guam is one of these ports.
I can’t think of any reason why these critical pieces of equipment should be allowed to be ultimately under the control of the CCP.
Thanks for the update, Steve.
I just realized that my hijacking coupon expires tomorrow, and there is no refund if I don’t use it.
I came up with this…
When I read the title, at first I thought you were announcing that the Culebra Cut had finally reached the Angle of Repose.
Just watch the mosquitoes.
Forget Canada, why isn’t making Panama a state a thing?
Correct. I used a bunch of news stories. I thought of linking to some of them, but it is all over the business press and now the mainstream press too.
The lock chambers fill by gravity so that no pumps are required to operate them. Each chamber contains 26.7 million gallons of water, and it fills in ten minutes.
All designed by American engineers with slide rules.
Photo of Gatun locks during construction, 1910. Source: By Unknown author – The Panama Canal, An address to the National Geographic Society, by Colonel Goethals, February 10, 1911., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=398680
Not even Curta mechanical calculators existed that early.
From last night’s Joint Session of Congress address:
“To further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we’ve already started doing it.
Just today, a large American company announced they are buying both ports around the Panama Canal and lots of other things having to do with the Panama Canal and a couple of other canals. The Panama Canal was built by Americans for Americans, not for others. But others could use it.
But it was built at tremendous cost of American blood and treasure. 38,000 workers died building the Panama Canal. They died of malaria. They died of snakebites and mosquitoes. Not a nice place to work.
They paid them very highly to go there, knowing there was a 25% chance that they would die. The most expensive project also that was ever built in our country’s history if you bring it up to modern-day costs. It was given away by the Carter administration for $1. But that agreement has been violated very severely.
We didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.”
Solves equations and grinds coffee!
Panama is on the list, but after Australia, Formosa, and Gibraltar.
Coffee first. Then solving equations will be more efficient.
This is something I didn’t know:
”The gates are designed so that water pressure from the high side will push them closed and seal them. In 111 years of operation, a gate has never failed.”
Amazing. Just amazing.
All in good time.
They do have to repair or replace certain parts. These repairs must be timed carefully since shipping through the canal is a carefully orchestrated affair. Maintenance crews are given a window and must have the repairs completed before the lock is scheduled to be used. Ships are guaranteed a time block for transit and are owed big bucks if the canal passage is late. Ships also pay big bucks if they aren’t at their start buoy on time. That is one reason many ships are sea anchored near an entrance- arrive early to be on time.
Quisling!
What a neat little device. I had never heard of it – thanks for sharing
I had a couple that I got at a university surplus auction, back in the early 80s. I think I paid $50 for both. Sadly, they didn’t make it through multiple moves. Sure wish I had them now! They did calculations up to like 10 or 12 digits with perfect accuracy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curta
I just looked on E-Bay, and in good condition they are selling for $1000-$3000.
The 19th Century, mostly. Gringo heavy-handed corporatism stretching even to the present day. Spanish-speaking America is prickly about the US. But if Trump hears your idea….