Panama Canal

A recent report calls on shippers and insurers to take active risk mitigation measures to assess and spread the impact of an accident involving a neo-panamax vessel

Despite the huge advantages offered by the Panama Canal’s expansion, there have been growing concerns over safety issues associated with the introduction of neo-panamax vessels along the waterway.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and GCT USA welcomed the MOL Benefactor – the largest container ship ever to call on the Port of New York and New Jersey at GCT Bayonne – during its maiden visit at noon on Friday, July 8, 2016.

With the Panama Canal expansion complete, ocean cargo gateways in the Caribbean are investing to position themselves as logistics hubs to attract an ever-growing number of carriers serving this dynamic marketplace.

The long-awaited expansion of the Panama Canal, which was roughly ten years in the making, became a reality yesterday, with the expanded Canal holding an inauguration yesterday in Panama City, Panama to herald the next chapter in its history.

Bigger ships could mean bigger paydays for commodity producers when the expanded Panama Canal opens today as they can utilize larger vessels more frequently to tap into fast growing Asia-Pacific consumer markets.

In the wildly unstable ocean cargo carrier arena, three major consortia are fighting for market share, with some players simply hanging on for survival. Meanwhile, shippers may expect deployment shifts as a consequence of the Panama Canal expansion.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has announced that the Panama Canal Expansion will be officially inaugurated on Sunday, June 26, 2016 – two years beyond the original deadline.

The Panama Canal expands in 2016, allowing for more and larger (post-Panamax) ships to make the passage from East Asia to the United States.

While the expanded Panama Canal will be able to handle larger vessels, the next generation of mega-ships must be deployed on all-water routes. However, the nation’s premier ports will still have to compete by providing customized service—no matter how much volume steams in.

The expansion of the Panama Canal will be the headline event in shipping in 2016, and the $5 billion project promises to reorient the landscape of the logistics industry and alter the decision-making calculus of the shippers that the canal serves.

According to CBRE Group, the Panama Canal's expansion, the first major renovation the canal has undergone since its opening in 1914, is a milestone that will have a major impact on the global trade industry, and specifically, the way cargo is handled and transported throughout North America.

The CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, which was launched on Dec. 10, 2015, is scheduled to make her maiden call at APM Terminals-Pier 400 at the Port of Los Angeles followed by a subsequent visit to the Port of Oakland.

The Panama Canal Authority has stated that beginning on 8 September, the greatest draft permitted will be 39 feet, 11.89m, down from the current level of 39.5 feet, 12.04m. due to drought situations.

Ports, terminals, and ocean carriers currently comprise a family in severe dysfunction and denial, but can the intervention of shippers restore some badly needed order?