The Panama Canal Authority has booked its first LNG tanker through the expanded Panama Canal, something that could be the start of a huge shift in global gas trades.
The expanded canal welcomed its first ship, the 9,400 teu Cosco Shipping Panama containership, on Sunday and has booked around 170 neopanamaxes to transit the expanded locks in the coming months including a first LNG carrier, due to arrive in late July.
Speaking to this site, earlier this month Panama Canal administrator Jorge Quijano said: “LNG is a new business for us. It is also a new opportunity for the US to be competitive in selling to Asia, a market previously held by Qatar.”
The canal authorities ultimately anticipate around 20m tons of LNG to pass through the canal annually as the US ramps up exports to Asia.
On Monday, the NYK-controlled Lycaste Peace became the first very large liquefied petroleum gas (VLGC) carrier to pass through the wider waterway, carrying a cargo bound for Japan.
