Master of the locks

A cargo vessel crossing the locks to pass through the Panama Canal. Hallax at the locks of the Panama Canal’s Miraflores Visitor Centre in Panama City. — Nathalia Angarita/The New York Times

HANGING from a ladder attached to the hull of a giant, bobbing tanker, Capt Efrain Hallax began his climb up to the crew awaiting him atop the Athina, a ship anchored in Panama Bay and third in line to transit the Panama Canal.

The daunting 30m ascent up the shifting ship was nothing new for Hallax, 73.