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Focus on Panama

The latest news and developments from Panama, one of the world’s most important shipping nations.

Customers face transit reduction and congestion

An intense El Nino phenomenon took its toll on the waterway operations this year. The severe drought wreak havoc in canal handling and forced the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) to announce drastic measures with reducing the draught to 13.41mtr on May 30 until further notice.

Michele Labrut, Americas Correspondent

December 25, 2023

1 Min Read
CUSTOMERS OF THE CANAL
Seatrade Maritime

Canal Authorities said there would be no more draught reduction because ‘If we do that, it will impact 70% of our shippers,’ said ACP Administrator Ricaurte Vasquez, at the time.

The ACP, which has a normal capacity for 38 to 40 daily transits, has been operating at a total of 32 daily transits between the two sets of locks (Neopanamaxand Panamax) since July 30, outlined more severe cuts reducing progressively the number of transits to just 18 by February 2024.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) posted for Fiscal Year 2023, ending September 2023, a slowdown in the number of transits to 14,080 vessels compared to 14,239 transits in FY2022. It also showed a decrease in tonnage to 511,136,710 PC/UMS (Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System) tonnes, down from 518,833,663 PC/ UMS the year before which set a record for the Panama Canal cargo transported.

During the same period, Neopanamax transits increased to 3,623 (28.67% of total transits) up from 3,619 in FY2022 (when it represented 27.83%) and Panamax vessels decreased to 9.015 (71.33%) from 9,364 in 2022 (72.17%).

Fiscal Year 2023 Canal statistics show there is a growing interest from shipowners to commission larger container ships to move cargo through the third set of locks since the number of Neopanamax box ships increased to 1,751 representing 48.3% of total containers ships, while Panamax decreased to 1,036 (11.5%) compared to FY2022 when the ACP registered 1,674 transits of Neopanamax box ships (45.5% of total box ships) and 1,175 Panamax container vessels (12.5%).

Read the full article online in our Panama Maritime Review 2023/2024

About the Author

Michele Labrut

Americas Correspondent

Michèle Labrut is a long-time Panama resident, a journalist and correspondent, and has continuously covered the maritime sector of Central & Latin America.

Michèle first came to Panama as a press attaché to the French Embassy and then returned to the isthmus as a foreign correspondent in the 1980s.

Author of Seatrade Maritime's annual Panama Maritime Review magazine and of several books, Michèle also wrote for Time magazine, The Miami Herald, NBC News and the Economist Intelligence Unit. She has also collaborated in making several documentaries for the BBC and European and U.S. television networks.

Michèle's profession necessitates a profound knowledge of the country, but her acumen is not from necessity alone, but a genuine passion for Panama.

In 2012 she was awarded the Order of Merit (Knight grade) by the French Government for her services to international journalism and in 2021 the upgrade to Chevalier grade.

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