Brilliance of the Seas passing Gatun Locks, Panama Canal

Brilliance of the Seas passing Gatun Locks at the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal, an early morning, March 2006. The Gatun Locks is a triple flight and is lifting the ships up 25.9 m (85 ft) from the Atlantic to the main elevation of Lake Gatun. All three sets of locks are paired; that is, there are two parallel flights of locks at each of the three lock sites. The lock chambers are 33.53 meters (110 ft) wide by 320.0 meters (1050 ft) long, with a usable length of 304.8 metres (1000 ft). These dimensions determine the maximum size of ships which can use the canal; this size is known as Panamax. The total lift (the amount by which a ship is raised or lowered) in the three steps of the Gatun locks is 25.9 m (85 ft). The total length of the lock structures, including the approach walls, is over 3 kilometres (nearly two miles).