2QUESTION 2 OF 3
Answer & explanation
The official answer, with Fermi’s reasoning step by step.
Answer & explanation
Official answer
37
ships
How to estimate it
Fermi’s official “Napkin math”
The canal runs three lock lanes, the two original ones and the big new lane. Each lane has to alternate direction through the day, so how many ships can one push through? Maybe a dozen.
- Lock lanes
- 3
- Ships per lane per day
- × 12
- 3 × 12
- ≈ 36
Rounded assumptions may give a slightly different estimate. The official answer above is the game’s reference value.
Source calculation & reference
- Total transits, fiscal year 2025 (deep-draft and small commercial vessels)
- = 13,404
- Days in a year
- ÷ 365
- 13,404 ÷ 365
- ≈ 37 per day
Reference cited by Fermi: Panama Canal Authority fiscal year 2025 traffic figures
How close was your guess?
Your comparison will appear here.
Compare by ratio: divide the larger number by the smaller one. The closer to 1×, the better.