Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has recorded the third-highest annual tonnage in its history reporting 330.7 million Panama Canal tons (PC/UMS) for fiscal year 2016.
Local news cites a ACP recent report revealing that 13.114 ships sailed the interoceanic route in the fiscal period, from October 1, 2015 until September 30, 2016, with 330,7 million tons CP/SUAB .Of this total number of ships, 238 were neopanamax passed to the Canal extended in the first three months of functioning, for 18,2 million tons CP/SUAB.
The administrator of the ACP, Jorge Luis Quijano, said this achievement
“reinforces the continuous strategic importance of the route and the increasing value the recent investments in the Channel will bring to the maritime industry.”
In comparison with fiscal year 2015, Panama Canal registered 340,8 million tons of load, 4,3 % more than in 2014, which supposed a “historical record of tonnage” achieved after that of 2012, when 333,7 million tons passed.
“In spite of the deceleration of the international maritime trade during last year, we have registered one of the highest annual tonnages from the opening of the original channel 102 years ago,” said Quijano.
The container ships continued as the segment with major impact in the Channel with more than 36 % of the received dead-weight capacity, and represented 119,6 million travelled tons, including 13,4 millions of tons that happened for the extended Channel.
Another principal segments for tonnage, according to the report, were bulk carriers (65,6 million tons), tankers (55 million tons) and haulers (46,7 million tons).
The ACP said an important milestone was the introduction of the segment of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The carriers of LNG, which now can travel the interoceanic route thanks to the extension, spent(passed) 1,5 million tons CP/SUAB, over the initial forecasts of the Channel.
