The Panama Canal will welcome its largest container carrier in mid-May, according to Alphaliner.
That is, Taiwan's Evergreen would assign the maxi-Neopanamax Triton, a 20-row beam of 51.2 meters and a length of 369 meters, to a USEC service in the Far East headed through the Panama Canal.
The 14,424 TEU Triton will become the first container carrier of this beam and length to transit the channel. Currently deployed on the Far East route – USWC, the Triton will join the evergreen Far East – USEC AUE service, part of the OCEAN Alliance network, on April 18.
The ship is scheduled to transit the Panama Canal on May 15, en route from Kaohsiung to Columbus, from where it will continue to the ports of the east coast of the United States. With the passage of the Triton, Evergreen will be the first carrier to make use of the revised neo-panamax indicator of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP).
A year ago, in April 2018, the ACP announced the increase of the permitted beam for vessels transiting the new channel locks from 49 meters (19 rows) to 51.25 meters (20 rows). The revised rule entered into force on June 1, 2018, after nearly two years of successful operations of the canal's new locks.
While allowing for a wider beam, the new transit regime retained the vessel's maximum length restriction of 366 m. However, the ACP said it would consider accepting ships up to 369 metres, such as the Triton, on a case-by-case basis.
The largest container ships deployed on trans-Panama routes have so far been Neopanamax VLCS with 19 beams up to 48.4 meters and a maximum length of 366 meters.
The biggest change in oil flows through the expanded Panama Canal has been the increase in hydrocarbon gas (HGL) liquids, especially propane, from the US Gulf coast. usa. To destinations in Asia.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. has not been U.S., most of the oil that travels through the Panama Canal travels south from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. HGL's flows are the largest oil staple transiting the canal, EIA cited data from the Panama Canal Authority.
In 2018, about 387,000 barrels per day (b/d) of HGL moved south through the Panama Canal, compared to 266,000 b/d of distillate and 230,000 b/d of gasoline for engines.
The Panama Canal Authority, the Panama Canal operator, opened a third set of locks that facilitated the transit of larger ships in June 2016. Before 2016, the main restriction to increase US HGL exports in the country, the main restriction. usa. It was the export infrastructure on the US Gulf Coast. usa.
For 2016, the incorporation of the Gulf Coast's export infrastructure eased this restriction, and the size limitations of the original Panama Canal locks, and the costs associated with alternative shipping routes became the major restrictions on increased exports. Switzerland Law Firms Lawyers, Solicitor, Attorney Ismael Gerli
The growth of HGLs transiting the Panama Canal coincided with an increase in HGL exports from the US Gulf Coast. usa. To destinations mainly in Asia. In 2018, four of the five largest destinations for HGL exports from the US Gulf Coast have been in the world to have been usa. They were made in Asia, with Japan being the largest with 280,000 b/d.
"Future oil flows through the Panama Canal are likely to be related to the expansion of HGL petrochemical demand in Asia; economic growth in El Salvador, Ecuador, Peru and Chile; and continued growth in U.S. oil exports," EIA concluded.
