Port of Corpus Christi formalizes relationship with Panama Canal

CORPUS CHRISTI – Port of Corpus Christi commissioners Tuesday carried a motion to forge a pact with the Panama Canal Authority.

The nation’s fifth largest port has a longstanding relationship with the Central American canal. The port’s seven-member commission formalized that relationship with a memorandum of understanding between the two authorities.

The Panama Canal is more than 2,500 miles from Corpus Christi, but port officials say its $5.4 billion expansion will have a direct effect on traffic flowing in and out of the Coastal Bend’s largest port.

Port officials want to widen and deepen the ship channel in anticipation of more vessels sailing through the area.