LNG Now 10% of Enlarged Panama Canal Transits

The Panama Canal Authority said July 30 that it registered the transit of its 4,000th Neopanamax vessel through the expanded canal the previous day: an LNG carrier.

Maria Energy, owned by Greek shipowner Tsakos Energy Navigation, completed the milestone transit travelling southbound from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean on July 29, having loaded at Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass LNG export facility in Louisiana. 

It was followed by another Greek-owned LNG tanker, Maran Gas Alexandria, which transited the Neopanamax locks later that day in the same direction, which loaded at the Dominion Cove Point terminal in Maryland [an earlier version of this story said both loaded at Sabine, since corrected by the authority]. 

Of 4,000 vessels that have transited to date, LNG carriers – a relatively new segment to the Panama Canal – accounted for one in ten,"underscoring the steady growth of the burgeoning LNG segment," the authority said. About 52% have been container ships; liquid petroleum gas (LPG) vessels were a further 27%, and dry and liquid bulk carriers, car carriers, and cruise ships have made up the remaining 11%. 

"The steady increase in Neopanamax transits reflect our customers' confidence in the expanded canal, particularly with our fastest-growing segment," said Panama Canal administrator Jorge Quijano: "This reaffirms the value and impact our route has had across global maritime trade, including the fast-growing LNG segment."

It is just over two years since the first two LNG carriers transited the enlarged canal carrying Shell and BP cargoes. The Shell cargo was aboard the Maran Gas Apollonia, a sister ship to one named above (the banner photo shows that July 25 2016 landmark transit, courtesy of the Panama Canal Authority).   

The authority says the canal regularly now transits two LNG vessels the same direction each day, and has shown it can transit up to three vessels the same day in the same direction during periods of very high demand. It announced in June  that it will be lifting natural daylight restrictions for LNG transits on October 1, 2018, to offer added capacity to shippers: this will enable LNG vessels to navigate Gatun Lake at the same time, allowing two different LNG vessels to transit the canal the same day in two different directions, offering more flexibility to the segment.