The Panama Canal is readjusting its transit slot allocation programme in preparation for the introduction of long-term transit slot sales in the coming weeks.
Specifically, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) is preparing to implement what it calls ‘longer neopanamax locks’ for its larger Panamax locks in the next few weeks, which will cover ship transits from 5 January 2025 to 3 January 2026, and will also include the sale of transit slots in the Panama Canal. The process is organised as follows.
The process is as follows: starting on 9 September, LNG and LPG carriers will bid for 24 transit slots in each of six time slots; on 11 September, they will bid for 12 transit slots in each of 18 time slots. From 1 October, FCL operators will be able to bid for seven slots of 104 slots each, and on 3 October for seven slots of 52 transit slots each. From 7 October, any vessel type will be able to bid for six transit slots in a single slot.
ACP is said to have made public the new booking system tariffs that match the above packages. According to GAC, a global provider of shipping, logistics and maritime services, the operator with the highest bid will be awarded the slots but will face a surcharge of 250 per cent for exceeding the slot booking period by more than seven days. At the same time, the Authority will allow customers to pay a 1 per cent surcharge for switching slots out of ‘empathy’.
The package comes at a time when rains are returning the Panama Canal to normal. Previously, the Panama Canal responded to water shortages by adjusting the draught depth of ships downwards, reducing the number of ships passing through the canal each day. In June, Panama Canal Authority director Ricaurte Vasquez Morales said the agency was surveying shipping company executives to see how the reservation system could be changed to improve reliability. The possibility of auctioning off long-term slots was being considered at the time to ensure that ships could be protected from external factors.
Sources said the move was intended to maintain continuity of navigation as the waterway becomes a key hub for the industry. But not all shipping companies are rushing to bid. the ACP said some of the space auctions were originally planned to take place earlier, but the FCL market wanted more time.
To ensure fairness and impartiality, ACP's current auction will feature sealed bids. According to the report, some companies are concerned about the change in the ranking of vessel operators, and they are asking for clear and publicised rules for the calculation of the new rankings before they participate in the bidding. However, there are also some gas carrier operators who are taking a wait-and-see approach to the upcoming sale.
At the moment, the market is worrying about whether the Panama Canal's slot allocation plan and the planned creation of large reservoirs will affect shipping routes around the world. Richard Tyrell, CEO of Norwegian LNG shipping company Cool Company, noted that as long as the canal is passable, more ships will pass through it, but the future remains uncertain, while Kristian Sorensen, CEO of BW LPG, similarly said he would take a wait-and-see approach.
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