The expanded Panama Canal has welcomed its 2,000th neo-panamax vessel through the waterway. Container ships account for 54 % of transits through the expanded canal.
The »COSCO Yantian« containership completed the milestone transit through the Expanded Canal traveling northbound f[ds_preview]rom the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. The vessel measures 351 m in length and 43 m in beam, with a total TEU allowance (TTA) of 9,504.
»Over the last 15 months, the expanded canal has repeatedly exceeded expectations,« said Panama Canal Administrator, Jorge L. Quijano. »Yesterday‘s transit serves as yet another reminder of the industry’s rapid adoption of the route and reinforces our commitment to continually improving the service we offer our customers.«
»Another step forward for the expanded canal«
The »COSCO Yantian« is deployed on the Pacific East Coast 2 (PEX2) service, which operates between Asia and the Caribbean via the Panama canal.
The 2,000th transit marks another step forward for the expanded canal, which has served a number of vessel segments since its opening in June 2016, including containerships, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carries – a new segment for the waterway, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) says.
At 54 %, the container segment accounts for more than half of the transits through the expanded canal, while LPG and LNG vessels represent 29.2 and 8.6 %, respectively. Bulk carriers, tankers, car carriers and cruise ships have also transited the expanded canal.
