PANAMA CANAL SAYS TRANSIT TIME DROPS
The Panama Canal Authority said Monday that first-quarter figures for 2003 show that the average time it takes a vessel to transit the canal, fell 8.9 percent to 22.4 hours, from 24.6 hours last in 2002.
In the first quarter ended Dec. 31, there were four maritime accidents along the canal, down 33.3 from the six accidents that occurred in the comparable period of 2002.
Canal tonnage in the first quarter increased 4.9 percent. The number of vessel transits rose slightly, to 2,887 from 2,882.
The Canal Authority is the autonomous agency of the government of Panama that manages, operates and maintains the canal.