"Although the Panama Canal shortens the distance between U.S. and Asian markets, it also presents limitations (lock and traffic rules, etc.). Under current restrictions I believe the Panama Canal can handle, at most, one LNG tanker from the U.S. per day and the ‘Donald’s’ administration is advocating for diversification of exports away from the Gulf Coast"
Panama Canal registered the transit of its 4,000th Neopanamax vessel through the Expanded Canal on July 29, with the transit of the liquefied natural gas tanker Maria Energy from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
The Maria Energy was followed by another LNG tanker, the Maran Gas Alexandria, which also transited the neopanamax locks in the southbound direction.
Both vessels were loaded in Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass LNG export facility in Louisiana, USA, Panama Canal noted in its statement
The waterway regularly transits two LNG vessels in the same direction in the same day and is capable of transiting up to three vessels the same day in the same direction during periods of uncharacteristically high demand.
The Panama Canal said in June that it will be lifting natural daylight restrictions for LNG transits on October 1, 2018, to offer added capacity to shippers.
By lifting encounter restrictions, LNG vessels will also be able to navigate Gatun Lake at the same time, allowing two different LNG vessels to transit the Canal the same day in two different directions.
Of the 4,000 vessels that have transited to date, roughly 52 percent have been from the container segment.
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessels constitute another 27 percent, and LNG carriers, a relatively new segment to the Panama Canal, have been responsible for 10 percent of traffic.
Dry and liquid bulk carriers, car carriers and cruise ships make up the remaining transits.
Other notable transits thus far include the MSC Anzu, which became the 1000th transit on March 19, 2017, the COSCO Yantian which registered the 2,000th transit on September 26, 2017, and the MSC Caterina which registered the 3,000th transit on March 2, 2018.
Panama Canal alters booking system
The Panama Canal Authority said on Friday it will make changes to the waterway’s booking system for Neopanamax vessels, effective October 1.
“The modifications are a step in a positive direction for the Neopanamax Locks and take into consideration the lifting of certain navigation rules for liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels and ongoing customer feedback,” the Panama Canal Authority said in its statement.
Panama Canal in LNG tanker transit milestone
Panama Canal said it has reached a new milestone with the completion of four LNG carrier transits with beams of up to 49 meters in a single day through the Neopanamax Locks.
With this milestone, the Panama Canal broke its record set on April 17, when three LNG vessels transited through the waterway on the same day.
On Monday, October 1, Ribera del Duero Knutsen with a cargo capacity of 173,000 cubic meters and Maran Gas Pericles with a cargo capacity of 174,000 cubic meters transited northbound. Torben Spirit with a cargo capacity of 174,000 cubic meters and Oceanic Breeze with a cargo capacity of 155,300 cubic meters transited southbound.
The vessels facilitated international trade between customers in South Korea, Japan, Chile and the US Gulf Coast.
The Panama Canal introduced changes to its transit reservation system to offer two slots per day to LNG vessels. These modifications have allowed the optimization of the Expanded Canal’s capacity, in order to meet specific demands such as the transit of four LNG vessels.
The modifications unveiled in August 2018 and coming into effect on October 1, also allow lifting certain daylight restrictions for LNG vessels, as well as meetings between LNG vessels in opposite directions in Gatun Lake.
LNG, LPG boost Panama Canal tonnage to record high
The Panama Canal closed its 2018 fiscal year with a record tonnage of 442.1 million Panama Canal tons, boosted by LNG and LPG transit.
Panama Canal said in its statement the new figures represent a 9.5 percent rise from the previous year, surpassing projections of 429.4 million PC/UMS tons for FY 2018, as well as the 403.8 million PC/UMS tons registered in FY 2017.
The increase was driven by the transit of LPG and LNG carriers, containerships, chemical tankers and vehicle carriers.
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