Cosco Shipping Panama starts historic transit of expanded Panama Canal

The Cosco Pacific Panama entered the first chamber of the Atlantic Agua Clara having paid $586,094.58 for the transit the day before she would make the historic inauguration voyage.

As the Cosco Shipping Panama arrived in the locks second chamber, CaptainJude Rodrigues was welcomed by Panama’s president Juan Carlos Varela, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Administrator Jorge Quijano and Coscocs chairman Xu Lirong.

Later this afternoon, the vessel will reach the Pacific Cocoli Locks where the official Inauguration ceremony will take place.

On the eve of the inauguration, ACP Administrator Jorge Quijano hosted a reception for the Canal customers and ship owners invited to witness the inauguration June 26 and the festivities Sunday afternoon in the Cocoli locks.

“I would like to express my excitement of sharing this moment with our main customers and stakeholders, including the ports we serve,” said Quijano to the audience who applauded him repeatedly.

“You all know the effort that the construction of the expanded Canal entailed, and I have to thank you for your unwavering support during the ups and downs typical of a project of this magnitude and complexity. During the last nine years, we felt your support not only in words, but also in actions, as we witnessed the increased number of larger vessels being ordered that fit the new locks dimensions immediately after we announced the expansion, “ Quijano said.

“We also saw the rush by port terminals to deepen their channels and upgrade their infrastructure. Even shippers have done some shifting of their distribution centers. All this is proof of the trust that the shipping industry has on this project’s impact on global trade.   You all were with us during this voyage and tonight, I can proudly say that we did it and we did it together!”

“This is the beginning of a new era A new era that also brings new incentives. These include:

Beginning next week, we will accommodate containerships of around 8,000 to 10,000 teu transiting the Canal, and in a year or more, we should be receiving the larger 13,000 and 14,000 teu vessels in our waters.

“To this date, we have over 170 reservations for transits of neo-panamax vessels.”