Panama Canal sets one-day, million-ton cargo record
The Panama Canal Authority said the Panama Canal set a new tonnage record Tuesday when 1,005,551 tons of cargo was transported through the canal.
The previous record was 934,488 tons of cargo on July 3, 2003.
Tuesday’s tonnage traveled on seven containerships, 11 dry bulk carriers, four vehicle carriers and three cruise ships. Of the seven containerships, five were 900 feet long.
Canal revenues for the day, generated from vessel tolls, totaled $3.6 million.
“This clearly proves the Panama Canal’s reliability as the route of choice among shippers sending goods to market from Asia to the U.S. East Coast and vice versa,” said Alberto Aleman Zubieta, administrator of the Panama Canal Authority.