Panama Canal boosts daily booking passage slots to eight

PANAMA Canal authorities (ACP) have added an extra reservation slot to its Neopanamax locks, raising the total booking slots to eight daily to meet shippers' growing demand for capacity in the wake of the locks' expansion two years ago.

Since then the global maritime community has increasingly taken advantage of the time and cost savings afforded by the expanded canal, according to the ACP. The Panama Canal has seen steady adoption of the route, recording year-on-year growth both in terms of the number of vessels it has accommodated and the volume of cargo transited, reported American Shipper.

In the current fiscal year-to-date that started on October 1 the expanded canal has transited 1,183 neo-panamax vessels including containerships, liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied natural gas and dry bulk, representing a year-on-year increase of 39 per cent.

"We are constantly evaluating and optimising our operations to ensure our service is as efficient and safe as possible for customers across segments," said Panama Canal Administrator Jorge Quijano.

"This increase allows us to offer our customers even more flexibility and was made possible by strategic planning and the experience the Panama Canal team has our accrued in the last two years, especially considering that almost 150 personnel are involved in each transit."

The announcement comes ahead of an increase in the allowable beam for vessels transiting the locks. Starting from June 1 the maximum beam for vessels will be 51.25 metres, up from 49 metres.