It's one of the most important infrastructural achievements in human history, with far reaching impacts on global trade, geopolitics, and economics.
Enabling the ships to avoid a lengthy and hazardous route around the southernmost tip of South America, the shortcut reduces the travel distance by approximately 8000 nautical miles between two oceans, reducing the travel time to a matter of days which could otherwise take months. Global supply chains rely heavily on the Panama Canal, handling 5% of all global maritime trade. Industries, particularly in the U.S., China, and Latin America, depend on the canal for the smooth flow of raw materials and finished goods.
The Panama Canal is is also a marvel of engineering. Its construction involved the excavation of vast amounts of earth and the creation of locks that raise and lower the ships across the varied elevations of the Isthmus of Panama. In response to the reliance of global trade to Panama Canal, it went through a significant expansion on 2016, allowing larger ships to pass through, which are bigger than their earlier counterparts Panamax vessels, called Neo-Panamax or new Panamax vessels, further increasing its importance in the global trade.