May 22nd, 20190With plenty of rain finally falling over the past week in Panama, the authorities have postponed a sixth draft restriction of 2019. The maximum authorised draft of 13.11 m for vessels transiting the new neopanamax locks and 11.73 m for vessels transiting the old panamax locks will become effective June 12 instead of May 28. The...
May 7th, 20190The unprecedented drought hitting Panama has forced authorities to make a sixth draft restriction change this year. Effective from May 28, ships transiting through the new neopanamax locks will have a maximum authorised draft of 13.11 m, shaving another 30 cm off from the last restriction issued at the end of last month. The latest...
May 1st, 20191Faced with an enormous drought brought about by El Nino, the Panama Canal Authority imposed yesterday further draft limits for vessels moving through its expanded locks. The new maximum authorised draft for vessels transiting the neopanamax locks is 13.41 m, nearly 2 m short of its original design draft. This is the fifth time this year...
April 17th, 20190The Panama Canal is set to receive its first 20-row across boxship transit. The 14,424 teu , which Evergreen has on charter, will head through the waterway on May 15, marking another milestone in the evolution of the enlarged canal. According to Alphaliner, the vessel features a 20-rowbeam of 51.20 m and an length overall of 369 m,...
February 19th, 20190Ricaurte Vasquez has been tapped to become the next Panama Canal administrator. He will take over from Jorge Quijano on September 4, who will be stepping down at the end of his hugely significant seven-year term, in which he helmed the expansion of the waterway, helping reshape global trade flows. Vasquez will become the fourth...
July 1st, 20180The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) said it will open its locks to allow more liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers to transit the inter-oceanic waterway. ACP said it will lift daylight and encounter restrictions on LNG ships, effective from October 1. Lifting daylight restrictions means LNG ships will be allowed to transit the locks...
June 15th, 20180The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has announced that it is increasing the maximum allowable draft for vessels transiting the Canal’s expanded locks, also known as the neopanamax locks, to 14.94 metres tropical fresh water (TFW). It follows recent rainfall in the Canal watershed that has significantly increased the levels of Gatun and...
May 14th, 20180An agency of the Panamanian government charged with probing ethics violations and corruption is looking into the treatment of tugboat captains by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP). The Autoridad Nacional de Transparencia Internacional (ANTAI) is looking into the ACP’s use of disciplinary action against the captains last month. As...
May 11th, 20180The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has added an extra reservation slot to its neopanamax locks, making the total eight per day. ACP says it is making the addition because of increased demand for the bigger ships to transit the waterway. The new third locks were opened in June 2016 after a multi billion-dollar expansion project to...
May 1st, 20180The Panama Canal has welcomed the inaugural transit of the as it carried the first-ever liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment from the Dominion Cove Point terminal in the United States to Japan - a landmark voyage further reshaping the face of global gas trades. The transit, which occurred this past weekend, marks the beginning of a...
