Why should you care?
The Panama Canal route is not only shorter but cheaper than the Suez and Magellan (Cape Horn) routes. A ship crossing the Panama Canal saves 57.6 percent of the fuel consumption costs of traveling through the Suez route and 81.4 percent if it traveled through the Magellan route, in addition to other costs.
It takes 21 additional days for a vessel (depending upon the type and speed of the ship) to pass from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic using the Magellan route, instead of the Panama Canal.
