Panama Canal celebrates milestones

On the eve of the Panama Canal’s 102^nd anniversary, the canal welcomed the 100^th transit through its expanded waterway.

Less than two months after the inauguration of the expanded canal, the Neopanamax vessel Hanjin Xiamen became the 100^th vessel to transit the new locks. The Panama-flagged containership made its northbound transit from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean, destined for New York, US.

The Panama Canal has invested more than US$3.3 billion in improvements of the original waterway in the past 17 years alone. Panama Canal Administrator and CEO Jorge L. Quijano, said: "All of these investments were carried out with the purpose of providing greater reliability, safety and improved transit times […] After 102 years, the Panama Canal is rejuvenated thanks to the beginning of operations of the expanded canal, ongoing maintenance of its original infrastructure, and the commitment of its workforce of 10 000 talented men and women who make this route one of the main arteries of world maritime trade."

The Shell-chartered Maran Gas Apollonia became the first LNG carrier to transit through the expanded canal in July 2016, closely followed by BP’s British Merchant LNG carrier.

Edited from press release by Callum O'Reilly

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/lng-shipping/17082016/panama-canal-celebrates-milestones-2917/