Spain 2019-01-02

Member Emilio Jiménez Soler alerted use to what is most likely the first cartophilatelic issue of 2019! On January 2, 2019 Spain Post issued a single stamp marking Spain’s engineering contributions in building the Panama Canal and the recent expansion project. The A2 denominated (0,70€) issue depicts a map of the Panama Canal on the right side of the stamp. Locator symbols for both new sets of locks in the expansion project — the Agua Clara Locks (entrance from the Atlantic Ocean) and the Cocolí Locks (entrance from the Pacific Ocean) along with a generalized route line through the canal are overlaid on the map. The left side of the issue is an artist’s rendering of the bow of a large cargo vessel, with many stacks of containers on the deck.  Information from the Spanish Post web site provides the following details about the canal and the engineering contributions from Spain.  “A century ago, when the canal was initially being built, many Spaniards worked on its construction under the orders of the American engineers who carried out the great work. The recent new expansions to the canal were carried out by Spanish companies and that somehow closes that historical cycle and is another example of the relationship and commitment that Spain has with America. While the canal has served well over the past years, the was a need to expand and improve the infrastructure of the canal, with the aim of adapting it to the current needs of international trade and freight traffic.  For this, a consortium formed by different companies, most of them Spanish, started a great project of renovation and improvement of the Panama Canal, in which the most important part of it includes the construction of two new sets of locks (located at the two markers on the map) that include a total of 16 floodgates, eight located on the Atlantic side and the remaining on the Pacific side. The stamp that recognizes the Spanish workers and companies involved in this project.” [always a fascinating engineering project to read about and a nice thematic stamp from Spain. Does anyone know what the “ñ” near the Cocoli Locks denotes? Is it an emboss for the visually impaired? On an actual stamp, it appears more muted in color. – web admin]