Photos: Test Transits Continue as Panama Prepares for Opening of Expanded Canal

A cargo ship named Cosco Houston, navigates through Cocoli locks during a test of the new set of locks of the Panama Canal expansion project on the Pacific side in Cocoli, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama June 23, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

Tests of the Panama Canal’s new locks are continuing as worker’s prepare for the inauguration of the expansion project this Sunday.

On Thursday, the 261 meter long by 32 meter wide Cosco Houston navigated through the Pacific-facing Cocoli locks during a test of the new set of locks on the outskirts of Panama City.

Meanwhile, tests of the Atlantic-facing Agua Clara locks have been ongoing since earlier this month using the Panama Canal Authority-chartered bulk carrier MV Baroque. Earlier this week, a test transit of the Cocoli locks were carried out using the crane ship Oceanus.

Inauguration of the Panama Canal’s expansion project is set for this Sunday (June 26) with the transit of the MV Cosco Shipping Panama. The expansion will open to commercial vessels a day later on June 27.

For those of you who haven’t had a chance to read it yet, check out The New York Times’ fantastic story The New Panama Canal: A Risky Bet, about the expansion project and issues and challenges that it continues to face.