On last Tuesday, the Panama Canal saw the transit of the LNG carriers the Clean Ocean, Gaslog Gibraltar and Gaslog Hong Kong vessels, which first arrived at the Canal from the Pacific Ocean and transited north, departing on the Atlantic side, finishing their transit on Wednesday.
The development marks a significant record for the Panama Canal and its service of the burgeoning LNG segment – which began transiting the waterway for the first time following the inauguration of the expanded Canal. The segment has seen steady growth in the nearly two years since.
Currently, the Panama Canal offers one of the seven post-panamax reservation slots available per day to LNG shipowners specifically, which currently average five transits per week. However, during periods of high seasonal demand, the waterway has transited two vessels in one day on 14 separate occasions. In this fiscal year, as of March 2018, the Canal has registered 134 LNG transits.
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Read more on the Panama Canal and the LNG sector
Panama Canal LNG transits to increase by 50%
Expanded Panama Canal not the only factor in LNG shipping demand
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As demand from the LNG segment continues to grow, the Canal remains committed to meeting the needs of its customers and taking the necessary steps to increase capacity commensurate with demand.
According to Bloomberg, Dominion Energy Inc.’s Cove Point LNG terminal - the second to send shale gas overseas - started commercial service this week, roughly two years after Cheniere Energy Inc. opened up its Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana. So far, Sabine Pass has shipped more than 300 cargoes to 26 countries.
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