- The Panama Canal connects more than 140 maritime routes and 1,700 ports in 160 countries and contributed US$1.8 billion to the treasury in 2020.
- This is another record figure since the inauguration of the expansion.
- In June 2016, the Panama Canal was put into service its first expansion and celebrated its 5 years recently.
The expansion of the Panama Canal celebrated its 5 years since the beginning of its operations this Saturday, since the new locks that allow the passage of larger ships were inaugurated in 2016, reports Market Research Telecast.
Competitiveness of the service strengthened
The expansion strengthened “the competitiveness of the service offered by the Panama Canal,” contributed “economies of scale,” and attracted new markets such as liquefied natural gas ships, the route explained in a statement.
“In these five years, we went from the learning stage to the consolidation phase of an efficient and safe service to our clients, while increasing our direct contributions to the country through the National Government by virtue of the operation of the new locks,” said administrator Ricaurte Vásquez.
First expansion in 2016
In June 2016, the Panama Canal, through which 6% of world trade passes, put into service its first expansion, a work of at least 5.6 billion dollars and which began to be built in 2007.
The first ship to transit was the Chinese Cosco Shipping Panama, with a capacity for 9,400 containers, through the Agua Clara (Atlántico) lock, and paid a toll of 586,000 dollars.
The expansion of the Panama Canal, considered a jewel of modern engineering, was approved in a referendum, after the triumph of a resounding “yes” with 77.8% of the votes in favor.
Since the inauguration of the “neopanamax” locks, some 13,700 vessels have transited, which represents 28% of the transits in this period, 54% of the cargo volume and 58% of the Canal toll revenue, according to figures. of the interoceanic route.
Container ships are the main client
Container ships are the main client of the expanded Canal with 42% of transits, followed by liquefied petroleum gas vessels, 22%, dry bulk carriers, 15%, and liquefied natural gas, 14%, depending on the route.
“When we envisioned the expansion, we thought that the maximum capacity of the container ships that we would serve would be 12,000 containers, but today we transit ships with the capacity to load up to a little more than 15,000 containers,” said deputy administrator Ilya Espino de Marotta.
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Source: Market Research Telecast
