The first Suezmax crude oil tanker, Aegean Unity, began its historic transit on Thursday across the newly expanded Panama Canal.
Panama Canal Authoirty confirmed that the Greece-flagged vessel will be the first Suezmax to pass through the widened waterway. Aegean Unity coming from the U.S. West Coast, entered the Canal on Thursday morning August 18th,2016 , according to Reuters’ vessel tracking data.
The Aegean Unity becomes the first ‘Suezmax’ crude #oil tanker to cross the newly widened @CanaldePanama #OOTT pic.twitter.com/rZARdfnxKC
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas2) August 18, 2016
The ship is owned by Greece-based company Arcadia Shipmanagement and has a length of 274 meters and a width of 48 meters, the 158,932 dwt ship.
The expanded Panama Canal, which opened in late June, got off to a rocky start when one Chinese container ship hit a wall during transit, gashing the side of the ship and necessitating repairs. Other ships had bumped into the canal’s fenders, even ripping one off, when passing through the new locks.
