A Chinese container ship became the first vessel to make the inaugural passage through the newly expanded Panama Canal, a nine-year, $5 billion project that authorities hope will usher in a new era of global commerce at a time when the shipping industry is facing one of the worst slumps in history.

The COSCO Shipping Panama crossed the 80-kilometer canal on Sunday morning. It had set sale from the Greek Port of Piraeus two weeks prior and once it reached Panama transited the Agua Clara Locks on the Atlantic side of the canal in the morning and the Cocoli Locks inthe afternoon.

More than 5,000 people attended the inaugural ceremony, which included a shipping delegation led by Xu Lirong, chairman of China Ocean Shipping Company, as well as workers who helped build the canal project.