Geopolitical and meteorological events are continuing to reshape global container shipping trading patterns as vessels look for alternatives to all water routes via the Suez and Panama Canals.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has pulled back from a threatened reduction in transits to just 18 daily from the 1 February next year as rainfall improves.

Arsenio Antonio Dominguez has been confirmed as the next Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in a unanimous vote.

Container carriers are preparing for increased disruption at the Panama Canal as transit numbers continue to be reduced, and MSC and CMA CGM have both announced surcharges for the waterway.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has launched a programme to auctions of transits for vessels waiting to pass through the waterway with a winning bid of $1.1 million at the first auction on Saturday.

Even restricting the Panama Canal number of Neo-Panamax transits to just five there should still be enough capacity for containerships, however, it will be a different story for other vessel types such as gas carriers.

The latest restrictions on transits of the Panama Canal have prompted Ocean Network Express (ONE) CEO Jeremy Nixon to write to Panama President Cortizo, while other shipowners have already started diverting sailings.

With the Panama Canal implementing sharp cuts in the number of booking slots for transits in the coming months tankers are set to be squeezed out of using the key waterway.

The Panama Canal announced a series of sharp reductions in booking slots to just 18 daily by February 2024 following the driest month of October in 73 years.

Florida-based Crowley has been issued the first permit by the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) to LNG bunkering services on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal.