Panama Canal for even bigger ships

The Panama Canal has increased the maximum allowable length for ships passing through the neo-panamax lock to 370.33m from 367.28m. This means that 96.8 per cent of the world’s container ship fleet can now pass through the canal.

The change was introduced to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the opening of the new locks earlier this month. It will provide more flexibility for shipping lines to make decisions on building larger capacity vessels and will also have an impact on carbon emissions, according to the Canal Authority. The shorter route will reduce fuel consumption.

A series of trial voyages of Evergreen’s 369-metre, 14,424 TEU Triton vessel confirmed the safety of increasing the overall length. Since then, other ships of similar size have successfully completed the voyage.

The authorities also announced that the Panama Canal now offers 15.24m draft, the highest level allowed on this waterway.

rel. AL/ PortalMorski.pl