Panama Canal expects double LNG carrier transits by 2020

TIN news:  LNG carriers transiting the Panama Canal are expected to double by 2020 driven by US exports of natural gas, according to Jorge L. Quijano , CEO of the Panama Canal Authority.

“For the first time in canal history, we are handling LNG vessels that were unable to fit our Panamax-size locks. The shale revolution in the United States not only has produced a quantum leap in terms of technology and volumes, but has also become a catalyst for the development and rapid evolution of a growing spot market, swaps and short-term contracts that were unthinkable a few years ago” Mr. Quijano, stated on the sidelines of Sea Asia Conference.

Following the inauguration of the expanded locks in June 2016, the Canal welcomed its first-ever LNG carrier, the Shell-chartered Maran Gas Apollonia. The Canal has make a shift in the liquid bulk segment with its expansion, considering that now it is able to accommodate 90 percent of the world’s LNG carriers. The expanded canal allows ships departing the U.S. East and Gulf Coast for Asia to cut voyage times to 22.8 days roundtrip.

Mr. Quijano noted that the expanded Canal has reported unpreceded increase of LNG flows during the past nine months of operation. The Canal has broadened the LNG trade, from example LNG from Algeria and from Equatorial Guinea can now go to Mexico’s Pacific coast using the Panama Canal, Mr. Quijano commented.