Massive Panama Canal Expansion Given The OK

[Matt Ruscher]

This will most likely change shipping as we know it when it is completed. Mostly the width expected for the locks in nuts! Taken from inthenews.co.uk: "Engineers intend to increase the waterway's depth to 18.3m(60ft) to allow 366m(1200ft) long vessels with a beam of 49m(160.7ft) to traverse between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans."
Here is a news story about the vote:
http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/voters-approve-panama-canal-expansion/n20061022194609990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

[bobrayner]

There's some interesting background information here:

http://www.economist.com/agenda/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8071494