MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Five days waiting list to cross the Panama Canal

The number of vessels waiting to cross the Panama Canal on Tuesday reached 103 causing considerable delays, --up to five days--, according to the administrative body of the inter-oceanic waterway

In a release the Panama Canal Authority, PCA, said the demand has increased significantly in the last two weeks averaging 40 vessels per day forcing a permanent waiting list of over 60.

The Canal is making full use of all its resources to face growing traffic demand including new docking stations, but it doesn't seem to be enough.

Abraham Saied, head of the Traffic Administration Department from PCA said that March and April are the busiest months, but "pressure this year has been exceptional given the different types of vessels crossing or waiting to sail the Canal". "Compared to March 2005, we've had 40 extra grain vessels and 28 containers".

Mr. Saied underlined that the situation has been consistent since last February 18, "for the last 45 days we've been receiving more vessels that the current capacity of the Canal".

Actually the recent rapid growth of Asian economies like China and India has led to a surge in shipping worldwide and the Canal which handles 5% of world trade is now operating at near full capacity.

With this in mind the PCA has decided that it is time the waterway had a major refit and has approved plans for a 7.5 billion US dollars widening of the vital trade route. The project will take about seven years and employ an estimated 8.000 people.

Two new 3-chamber locks will be built at the Pacific and Atlantic ends of the canal, creating a third lane of traffic capable of handling large container ships and tankers that have previously been too wide. Workers will also prepare new approach channels and dredge existing ones, ensuring that the canal can take the biggest cargo vessels.

"For 80 years we set the standard," said Jorge Quijano, director of maritime operations for the Panama Canal Authority, adding "that's why the first container ships were called Panamax vessels, meaning the maximum size for a ship to pass through the Panama Canal. But in the 1990s Post Panamax vessels were built, ships up to 160 feet wide and too big to pass through the canal's existing lock system."

The canal has missed out on the potentially lucrative revenues from oil tankers, LNG (liquefied natural gas) carriers and bulk carriers, which are more profitable in terms of tolls and fees for services, but most of which are too big to use the waterway.

The US will also "benefit enormously" from the enlargement, Quijano said, as it will free up congested US ports and railways. He said that the canal's position on the main shipping route between the east coast of the US and rapidly growing Asian markets underpinned the decision to enlarge it.

"As soon as China joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001 the final flag went up for us to do something" Mr Quijano said, admitting that the project was delayed for several years because "it is such a costly investment".

The 7.5 billion US dollars investment is equivalent to 35/50% of Panama's GDP.