The training facility fills 35.3 acres and features two lakes connected by a channel modeled after the canal’s Culebra Cut. It has docking bays, replicas of the new and existing locks, and gates, all at a 1:25 scale, and is equipped with scale-model tugboats and ships.
The Panama Canal Authority has opened a new Scale Model Maneuvering Training Facility that will provide additional hands-on experience to pilots and tugboat captains to operate in the expanded canal.
The training facility fills 35.3 acres and features two lakes connected by a channel modeled after the canal’s Culebra Cut. It has docking bays, replicas of the new and existing locks, and gates, all at a 1:25 scale, and is equipped with scale-model tugboats and ships, including bulk carriers, a container ship, and a liquid natural gas ship that will be delivered by September 2016.
According to the authority’s news release, the facility features wave and wind generators to provide a realistic training experience for canal pilots and tugboat captains and complements training already provided at the Center of Simulation, Research and Maritime Development.