The 104-year-old waterway also is increasing the maximum beam for vessels transiting the locks.
The Panama Canal on Monday increased the total number of daily reservation slots for its Neopanamax locks from seven to eight in order to handle increased demand.
The expanded canal has transited 1,183 Neopanamax vessels — including containerships, liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied natural gas and dry bulk vessels — since its 2018 fiscal year started Oct. 1. That’s a 39 percent increase in cumulative transits year-on-year, according to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP).
The ACP announced in April that effective June 1 the maximum beam for vessels transiting the Neopanamax locks, measured at the outer surface of the shell plate and all protruding structures below the lock walls, will increase from 49 meters (160.76 feet) to 51.25 meters (168.14 feet).
The Panama Canal expansion, which was completed in June 2016, included the construction of a new set of locks on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the waterway, creating a third lane of traffic and doubling the cargo capacity. The expanded locks are 70 feet wider and 18 feet deeper than those in the original canal.
The Panama Canal plays a major role in container shipping, with 289 containerships averaging 6,101 TEUs routinely using the waterway (collectively including all locks), according to BlueWater Reporting’s Capacity Report. A month before the expanded locks opened, 283 containerships averaging 4,831 TEUs routinely used the waterway.
Panama Canal ups Neopanamax reservation slots
