Panama Canal- Panama

• The Canal was begun in 1904 and finished in 1914.
• Total Length: 77 km (48 mi)
• Connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
• Cost: $375 million

Erie Canal – New York

• The Canal was begun in 1817  and finished in 1825.
• Total Length: 584 km (363 miles)
• Connects Albany to Buffalo, New York.
• Cost: $7 million

Suez Canal – Egypt

• The Canal was begun on April 25, 1859 and was opened on Nov. 17, 1869
• Total Length: 193.30 km (120.11 mi)
• Connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
• Cost: 560 million francs

Royal Canal – Ireland

• The Canal was begun in 1790 and was opened in 1817.
• Total Length: 145 km (90 mi)
• Connects Dublin to the River Shannon at Cloondara.
• Cost: £1,421,954

Grand Canal – China

• The Canal was started during the 5th century
• Total Length: 1,776 km (1,103 miles)
• Connects Beijing to Hangzhou, China.
• Cost: N/A

Panama Canal- Photos, Video, Maps

Panama Canal Timelapse – HD

Ship passing through the Panama Canal.

Image of Lock system on Panama Canal

Panama Canal from Space

Erie Canal – Photos, Songs, Maps,

The Erie Canal Song

Photo of a Erie Canal Lock

Map of the Erie Canal

Old Painting of the the Erie Canal

Suez Canal – Photos, Maps, Video

Video of the history of the Suez Canal

Map of the Suez Canal

Photo of ships on the Suez Canal

Old photo of the Suez Canal

Royal Canal- Photos, Map, Video

Liam Clancy – The Banks of the Royal Canal

Map of the Royal Canal

Photo of the Royal Canal

Image of Lock No. 22 on the Royal Canal

Grand Canal (China) – Photos, Video, Map

Video about the Grand Canal in China

Map of the Gran Canal of China

Grand Canal – China

The power and beauty of time lapse photography is rarely as dramatic as when it is shot from a ship. This clip of the Houston Ship Channel, 500 Knots on the Houston Ship Channel is a real pleasure to watch. Portofhouston.com tells us that, The Houston Ship Channel has been a catalyst for growth in Harris County since the first journey of a steamship up Buffalo Bayou in 1837. The ship channel plays a critical role in today’s community as well. It generates jobs and opportunities that allow businesses to flourish. A 2007 study by Martin Associates says ship channel-related businesses support more than 785,000 jobs throughout Texas while generating nearly $118 billion of statewide economic impact. Additionally, more than $3.7 billion in state and local tax revenues are generated by business activities related to the port. It is projected that the Port of Houston will continue to be an important factor as north-south trade expands.

Fred Fry pointed us to this amazing time lapse video by our favorite maritime photographer. Click HERE for the details.

Another amazing Time Lapse video from our friend Lou Vest of the Houston Pilots. You can find more of Lou’s amazing photos on Flickr (link).

A time lapse video made by setting a camera to take photos at six second intervals during a trip outbound on the Houston Ship Channel. I used Quicktime to assemble over 2000 individual photos into a 3 minute movie representing an actual time of over 3 1/2 hours. The ship was only moving at 5-6 knots for the first half of the trip and up to 10 knots in the open areas away from the docks. The journey begins just below the Port of Houston turning basin at the end of the channel and continues down to Morgan’s Point at the head of Galveston Bay. We still had 32 miles to go to get out to the pilot station in the Gulf of Mexico at that point. The ship is a Panamax tanker 600 feet long by 106 feet wide.

If you are a fan of dramatic nature films or just looking to get some Christmas shopping for the little ones out of the way you should think about picking up Disney’s OCEANS now on DVD. Not only does the film show some breathtaking shots of marine wildlife it also has some amazing clips of ruff seas and pounding surf.

Disneynature, the studio that presented the recored breaking film EARTH brings OCEANS to the big screen on Earth Day 2010. Nearly three-quarters of the Earths surface is covered by water and Oceans boldly chronicles the mysteries that lie beneath. Directors Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud duve deep into the harsh reality of the weird and wonderful mankind exploring the playful splendor and the harsh reality of the weird and wonderful creatures that live within. Featuring spectacular never before seen imagery captured by the latest underwater technologies, OCEANS offers and unprecedented look beneath the sea in a powerful yet enchanting motion picture that unfolds on April 22, 2010

McDonalds Fish Ship – “Alaska Ocean”

If you have ever eaten a McDonald’s Filet-o-fish there is a good chance that it came from the Alaska Ocean. The Alaska Ocean is the largest catcher/processor ship in the U.S. fleet with a capacity to catch and process 300 tons of Alaskan Pollock each day. The Alaska Ocean yearly catch accounts for nearly 40% of commercial caught fish in the U.S.

Alaska Ocean Seafood was established in 1988 for the purpose of processing and marketing seafood products. In 1990, the company commissioned the catcher/processor Alaska Ocean, designed and built specifically to catch and process Alaska pollock and Pacific whiting. At 376 feet, the Alaska Ocean is the largest catcher/processor in the U.S. fleet. atsea.org

Vessel Specifics
C/P Alaska Ocean
Length: 376 feet
Horsepower: 6250
Tonnage: 7419
Crew capacity: 150
Products: Bering Sea pollock and Pacific Whiting surimi and fillet, pollock roe, fishmeal, fish oil

This weeks photo was taken by gCaptain Staff from a roof top in downtown San Francisco, California. It is of a Container Ship operated by Yang Ming passing through San Francisco Bay.

This weeks photo come to us from off the cost of Cordova, Alaska. courtlevephoto.com

This morning the New York Times published an article entitled After Another Close Call, Transocean Changed Rules that points to Transocean’s critical changes to its own policies for handling oil well safety just weeks before the Deepwater Horizon incident.

Four months before the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, another oil rig owned by the same company faced a strikingly similar emergency in the North Sea that was contained only because its safety equipment functioned properly, according to confidential internal documents.

In response to the near disaster, Transocean, the world’s largest offshore drilling company, ordered critical changes to its own policies for handling oil well safety. But it is not clear whether those policy changes reached the Deepwater Horizon crew before that rig exploded.

Like the disaster in the gulf, the North Sea emergency involved dangerous pressure levels, a failure to detect those pressures in time, a risky plan for sealing the well and an emergency order for the crew to evacuate to lifeboats. Full Story

The design for Independence (LCS 2) is based on a high-speed trimaran that can make more than 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph) and has a range of 10,000 nautical miles. It was delivered to the Navy at the end of 2009 but the development and construction of Independence ran more then 100% over-budget reaching a total projected cost of $704 million. Even if the Navy doesn’t pick its design for full production, this could end up as one of the most influential ships in the history of the fleet. Philip Ewing of the Navy Times explains.

This video clip features assorted aerial views of the U.S. Navy’s newest ship USS Independence (LCS 2).

Photo by Lars Grepstad

On the North Sea – Photo of the Bourbon Mistral

The Bourbon Mistral platform supply vessel was the first ship with the Ulstein’s X-Bow design which helped it win the Ship of the Year Award at the SMM in 2006.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel

• Crosses: Chesapeake Bay
• Length: Two one mile long (1.6 km) tunnels. Length Toll Plaza to Toll Plaza: 20 miles
• Connects: Eastern Shore of Virginia with Hampton Roads, Virginia.
• Opened: April, 1964.
• Cost: $200 million North Bound ,$250 million South Bound.

The Drogden Tunnel

• Crosses: the Oresund strait.
• Length: 4,050 m (13,287 ft)
• Connects: The Danish capital of Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmö.
• Opened: Summer 2000.
• Cost: DKK 30.1 billion entire Øresund connection construction

The Channel Tunnel (The Chunnel)

• Crosses: the English Channel at the Strait of Dover.
• Length: 50.5-kilometre (31.4 mi)
• Connects: Dover in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France.
• Opened: May 6, 1994.
• Cost: $15 billion to build.

The Seikan Tunnel

• Crosses: the Tsugaru Strait.
• Length: 23.3-kilometre (14.5 mi)
• Connects: the Japanese island of Honshū and the island of Hokkaidō.
• Opened: March 13, 1988.
• Cost: ¥538.4 billion (US$3.6 billion)

The Lincoln Tunnel

• Crosses: the Hudson River.
• Length: 1.5-miles long (2.4 km)
• Connects: Weehawken, New Jersey and the borough of Manhattan in New York City.
• Opened: December 22, 1937.
• Cost: $85,000,000

Drogden Tunnel – Photos & Info

Drogden Tunnel.

Moving the tunnel into place

Drogden Tunnel layout.

The Seikan Tunnel – Photos & Info

The Seikan Tunnel Graph.

Entrance to the Seikan Tunnel.

Map of the Seikan Tunnel.

View from inside the Seikan Tunnel.

Building the Seikan Tunnel.

Channel Tunnel (Chunnel) – Photos & Info

View of the Strait of Dover.

Geological profile of the Chunnel.

Chunnel Outline

Lincoln Tunnel - Photos

Hudson River.

Entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel.

View from inside the Lincoln tunnel in New York

The Building of the Lincoln tunnel

Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel – Photos & Info

Ship passing over the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel

Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Graph

Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Aerial Photo

Proposed Bridge-Tunnels

• Bering Strait crossing
• Strait of Sicily Tunnel
• Saudi-Egypt Causeway
• Bridge of the Horns
• Sakhalin Tunnel
• Sakhalin-Hokkaido Tunnel
• Gibraltar Bridge
• Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge