The expanded canal opened amid questions about its long-term viability due to water availability and changes in shipping patterns. The accident, involving a tugboat and an unidentified small ship, did not occur inside the old canal’s locks. Panama built the expanded locks, without help from other governments, because the newer ships that increasingly carry the world’s cargo are too large to fit in the old canal. A Chinese-owned container ship, Cosco Shipping Panama, on Sunday became the first commercial vessel to successfully cross the Panama Canal’s newly expanded locks, a historic achievement that Panama hopes will keep the canal as relevant in this century as it was in the last. A consortium of companies from Spain, Italy, Belgium and Panama won the contract with a $3.1 billion bid — a billion less than the second-lowest bid.

Source: New York Times June 27, 2016 01:30 UTC