News

The balance of the Panama Canal for 2018 is positive. In total, the tonnage moved through the isthmus was 9.5% higher, compared to the previous year, when the procedures had already reached 22% more.

The balance of the Panama Canal for 2018 is positive. In total, the tonnage moved through the isthmus was 9.5% higher, compared to the previous year, when the procedures had already reached 22% more.

The data was provided by the administrator of the Panama Canal, Jorge Luis Quijano, who took stock of the activity carried out in 2018 before the media in his country.

One of the star items and on which the authority focused in 2018 was liquefied natural gas. “We were trying to capture more liquefied natural gas, for example, and for that we needed to relax some of the limitations that we had. We had to offer more opportunity for the use of reservations, so we had to increase the number to eight, and this allowed a significant increase in what was the gas segment, “he explained.

These measures allowed a 24% increase in gas handling compared to last year. “The jump is important, although not at the same level that occurred between 2016 and 2017, and that is because we opened in mid-2016, and in 2017 we had the entire expansion going.

Carrier vessels also showed a growth of 14%, taking into account both those that pass through the expanded Canal and those that do so through the original Canal.

The fiscal year of the Panama Canal that just ended in September accounted for a historical record of 442.1 million tons CP / UMS (volume measure of the Universal Ship Tonnage System of the Panama Canal), an increase of 9 , 5% compared to fiscal year 2017.