Panama Canal Expansion Ushers in New Dawn for Global Shipping

After nearly 10 years and investments of $5.4 billion, the legendary Panama Canal opened the floodgates on its new expansion this weekend, as onlookers from a host of countries celebrated the official opening ceremony.
The new set of locks now allows neo-Panamax ships carrying up to 14,000 containers to cut a quicker path between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, nearly tripling the previous capacity of 5,000 container ships.
While this historic expansion is expected to bring more revenue into Panama, the matter of law enforcement and heightened security, particularly within the drug trade, is still high on the political agenda.