Panama Canal Hits New Milestone with Four LNG Transits

The Panama Canal reached a new milestone with the transit of four liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships with beams of up to 160 feet in a single day through the Neopanamax Locks. This breaks the record set on April 17, 2018, when three LNG vessels transited through the waterway on the same day.

Ribera del Duero Knutsen with a cargo capacity of 173,000 cubic meters (226,275 cubic yards) and Maran Gas Pericles with cargo capacity of 174,000 cubic meters (227,583 cubic yards) transited northbound, while Torben Spirit with a cargo capacity of 174,000 cubic meters (227,583 cubic yards) and Oceanic Breeze with a cargo capacity of 155,300 cubic meters (203,124 cubic yards) transited southbound, facilitating international trade between customers in South Korea, Japan, Chile and the US Gulf Coast.

Having more than 4,200 Neopanamax vessels, sparked the Panama Canal to introduce changes in August to its Transit Reservation System to now offer two slots per day to LNG vessels. These modifications optimized the Expanded Canal’s capacity facilitating this most recent transit of four LNG vessels in one day.