Press Releases 2005

August 4, 2005

Multinational Naval Force Trains to defend Panama Canal

By U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command Public Affairs

Naval forces from 15 countries will conduct PANAMAX 2005, the largest multinational training event for the defense of the Panama Canal, August 4-17, in the Caribbean and Pacific approaches to the Panama Canal. PANAMAX 2005 is a scenario-based training exercise that brings 15 navies and maritime security forces together, operating as a multinational force to conduct training in detection, monitoring and interdiction of threats to the safety of the Panama Canal.

Ships, aircraft and naval personnel from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Panama, Peru and the U.S. – along with observers from Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, France, Mexico and Uruguay -- will plan and respond to a simulated security crisis affecting the most important waterway in the western hemisphere.

The multinational forces defending the canal will be organized under Combined Joint Task Force 138 and commanded by Rear Admiral Vinson Smith.

The exercise builds on a concept of layered defense. The goal of layered defense is to establish concentric rings of security, making it difficult to attack while enabling defending forces to respond at the earliest possible time.

The Panama Canal is critical to the free flow of trade and goods in the western hemisphere and the entire world. The region's economy and stability largely depend on the safe transport of several hundred million tons of cargo that transit through the canal every year.

For additional information about PANAMAX 2005, contact the COMUSNAVSO Public Affairs Office at (904) 270 7354 x 4009, DSN 960, email ligia.cohen@navy.mil.