Panama Canal increases allowed length, draught for Neo-Panamax locks

The Panama Canal’s locks that are allotted for Neo-Panamax ships have been increased to allow the transit of vessels with LOAs of 370.33 metres and draughts of 15.24 metres, the Panama Canal Authority said in a statement on Tuesday, June 15.

The authority explained that the increase in allowance will mean that 96.8 per cent of the global container shipping fleet can now sail through the canal.

The work to increase the Neo-Panamax locks’ allowance was carried out in May of this year. It is the first expansion to be done on the locks within the last five years.

Prior to the expansion, the canal authority performed a series of test sailings to confirm the feasibility and the safety of the planned works. Among the ships that were used in the tests was the Evergreen 369-metre containership Triton.