Panama Canal longest wait hits 19 days, LPG carriers reroute

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 28, the longest waiting time for non-reserved vessels at the Panama Canal rose to 19 days, the highest level since 2022. Transit delays were mainly concentrated at the Neopanamax locks, while narrower vessels using the traditional Panamax locks were relatively less affected in terms of waiting time and freight rates.

Two LPG carriers chartered by TotalEnergies, the Energia Grandeur and the Eneos Wisdom, recently conducted ship-to-ship transfers off the port of Balboa on Panama's Pacific coast. The Energia Grandeur, a conventional Panamax vessel, had been carrying LPG toward Japan before turning back to Panama; the Eneos Wisdom is a Neopanamax vessel. This arrangement allowed one of the vessels to transit the canal round-trip and transfer its cargo to the other vessel off Balboa.

Another large LPG carrier, the Gas Scorpio, has opted to sail around the southern tip of South America to load cargo in the United States. The vessel is currently navigating waters near Chile, and the detour is expected to add approximately one month to the voyage. The last time a large LPG carrier took a similar route was in 2023, when the Panama Canal also experienced congestion due to insufficient rainfall.

The Panama Canal Authority has decided that, effective September 3, the daily transit slots for the Neopanamax locks will be adjusted to 9, and for the traditional Panamax locks to 25; effective September 15, the latter will be further reduced to 23. The Authority stated that vessels without reserved slots may face longer waiting times.

Temporary reservation rules will take effect on August 30 and apply to transit dates reserved after September 13. The Neopanamax locks will offer 63 reservation slots per week, with at least 3 slots allocated to LPG carriers and LNG carriers respectively for each reservation date. A confirmed reservation is the way to guarantee transit on a specific date.