Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here’s the latest.
Emirates (again) postpones world’s longest flight from Dubai to Panama
After a primary delay from February to the end of March, and now with the new deadline quickly approaching, Emirates has made a big announcement regarding the Dubai-Panama flight. This week, they announced that the delay would be extended, and could take up to a year.
The 17 hours and 35 minutes direct flight between the two cities was originally slated for launch on February 1 but was delayed until March 31. Now the launch will be by the end of 2016 or early 2017 or “as soon as conditions allow”, it said.
“We firmly believe in the potential of Central America, and remain keen to link the Emirates network to the region. We will retain staff in Panama City to continue developing our presence,” said an Emirates spokeswoman. In August, Emirates announced the launch of the world’s longest flight to Panama using a Boeing 777-200LR [long range] aircraft capable of carrying up to 15 tonnes of cargo.
Source: The National
Panama Canal expansion enters trial phase
Earlier this week, GUPC, the consortium in charge of building the new Panama Canal Locks, announced that over 2,000 trials will begin between the Pacific and Caribbean over the next two months.
Some systems are already being operated from the control towers and the buildings where machines are located “are almost finished,” Jose Pelaez, GUPC’s project director, said. “This new inter-oceanic canal has achieved almost every major client requirement, such as timing for opening and closing the gates, time to fill locks, seal capacities and others,” GUPC said in a statement.
At the end of the trial period, called by GUPC “an essential part of the project’s optimization,” there will be navigation tests during the second week of May with a vessel leased by the Panama Canal Authority, or ACP.
Source: Fox News Latino
Missouri trade delegation heads for Panama
This past week, the Governor of Missouri, Jay Nixon, headed to Panama with a delegation to discuss trade between the Midwestern state and Central American nation.
Panama is especially important for Missouri exports, the Governor said, because the Panama Canal transports an estimated 5% of the world’s total cargo – including 60% of U.S. grain exports. A historic expansion of the canal to accommodate even larger ocean-going ships is expected to be completed this year, which will benefit exporters of bulk commodities, such as agricultural goods. The larger ships are expected to result in freight rate savings, especially for grain shipments from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico to Asia.
“The expansion of the Panama Canal has the potential to further increase Missouri exports – by making it even easier to ship agricultural goods around the world,” Nixon said. “This trade mission will help ensure Missouri is ready to capitalize on the opportunities created by this historic expansion, and continue feeding, fueling and clothing the world.”
Source: Missourinet
Artist’s Greatest Subject Was the Panama Canal
In a new art exhibit in New York; the Panama Canal will take center stage. This exhibit will be held at the Hudson River Museum” and features paintings from an early 20th century artist named Jonas Lie.
“Lie went to a New York movie house and saw a very, very early color movie called ‘The Making of the Panama Canal’ toward the end of 1912. He was so intrigued by it he was convinced he had to get there,” Mr. Bland said on a recent tour. A 1913 book of hand-colored photographs illustrating images Mr. Lie might have seen in the film — massive machines entrenched in muck and mosquitoes thousands of miles from civilization, terracelike steps down to a 40-foot deep canal bed where men laid tracks and placed dynamite — is among a few dozen artifacts arranged in glass cases in the show. So is a postcard that was on sale to Panama City tourists that shows Hercules prying open the earth.
Source: The New York Times
