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On Friday, March 8th, the Panama Canal Authority (PCA) announced that starting March 18th, they will be adding two additional slots daily to the Panamax Locks. They will then be adding another slot daily effective March 25th. With the additional three slots added, the Panamax Locks will now be able to support 20 vessels daily while the Neopanamax is currently supporting 7, meaning in total the Panama Canal is allowing 27 vessels daily to transit.
The Panama Canal utilizes water from a series of man made lakes and rivers to operate the locks which historically allows 34-36 vessels daily to transit the canal. However, due to drought conditions in the region, the PCA has restricted vessel sizes along with the number of vessels that are allowed to transit the canals each day. Those restrictions have been as low as 18 vessels per day.
The PCA noted in their announcement that these changes are being made due to the current and projected level of Gatun Lake. The addition of three additional vessels daily is welcome by the international trade community as the Panama Canal supports the major trade lane between Asia and the US East and Gulf Coasts.
If you have any questions, please contact your local Noatum Logistics representative.
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