East Coast ports eager to capitalize on the newly expanded Panama Canal are engaged in massive dredging projects to reach the ideal channel depth of 50 feet or more, but so far results are uneven.
Construction in Panama increased the canal’s productivity to as much as 14,000 20-foot-equivalent units per ship from 5,000 TEUs pre-expansion, according to the Panama Canal Authority website. Interviews with East Coast port officials show those organizations are in different stages of readiness to receive the larger vessels.
