By: Staff Writer
August 23, 2024
The Panama Canal Authority announced authorized draft starting immediately will be 50 feet as Gatun lake is projected to rise.
An additional transit slot will also be added beginning 1 September. The additional slot brings the total number of passages allowed per day to 36, almost at par with the 36-38 transits/day seen before a drought forced the PCA to limit transit for the first time in its history.
There are 10 slots for Neopanamax vessels, 20 for supers and six for regular vessels.
The region has been through an intense drought that caused the PCA in 2023 to lower allowable drafts and to limit the number of vessels permitted to transit each day, a first since the canal formally opened in 1914.
Restrictions have gradually eased over the past few months and are approaching the average daily transits of 36-38/day seen prior to impacts from the drought.
The better conditions at the canal are likely to improve transit times for vessels traveling between the US Gulf and Asia, as well as between Europe and countries on the west coast of Latin America.
Additionally, for booking dates beginning September 1, 2024, the ACP announces an increase in the total number of daily booking slots to 36, in a distribution of 10 slots for Neopanamax, 20 for Super and 6 for Regular vessels. Effective August 18, 2024, the procedure regarding the slot allocation in the Panamax Locks, will be as follows:
- An additional booking slot for Supers will be offered in period 2, for booking dates beginning on September 1, 2024.
- A Super booking slot previously offered during Booking Period 2 will be transferred to Booking Period 1 and will be offered at the opening of the First Period Competition for booking dates beginning on November 16, 2024.
- No more than ten (10) supers may be booked for transit in each direction for booking dates beginning with the tiebreaker competition at the opening of Period 2 for September 1, 2024. Nevertheless, depending on the vessel mix, whenever all slots in one direction have been allocated during the Second Period Competition and there are still slots available in the opposite direction, an additional slot may be allocated to interested vessels in the direction with no slot availability. The limit in the number of vessels with daylight restrictions per direction in the Panamax Locks, published in the Advisory to Shipping A-12-2024, will remain in effect.
In addition, the temporary measure regarding the customer ranking announced in Advisory to Shipping No. A-05-2024 is hereby being suspended. Therefore, the customer ranking to be published on September 1, 2024, will be based on the rules established in OP Notice to Shipping N-07-2024 (Rev.1). The ACP continues the evaluation of metrics and rules to be applied as tiebreakers in the Transit Reservation System slots competition and will announce any changes in a timely manner.
Furthermore, the limitation in the number of daily slots that may be awarded to each customer (per customer code) announced in Advisory to Shipping A-54-2023 and effective since January 16, 2024, is being modified to allow two (2) daily booking slots per customer, per booking date, in the Panamax and Neopanamax Locks, for booking dates beginning August 23, 2024. Slots awarded through the auction process are excluded from this limitation.
The following exceptions will apply to the Neopanamax Locks:
- Slots that cannot be allocated to other participating vessels during the tiebreaker competition, due to exceeding the established limits per customer, per direction and/or restriction, in which case the Customer Ranking will be used as the tiebreaker to allocate the slot.
- If there are no other interested vessels during the tiebreaker competitions.
- If there are booking slots still available after the closing of the tiebreaker or special competitions. In such cases, the available booking slots will be awarded to any customer submitting their booking request, on a firstcome, first-served basis.