Panama Canal tonnage up 10%, but transits slow

Panama Canal tonnage up 10%, but transits slow    The tonnage of ships that transited the Panama Canal during the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 rose 10 percent to 267 million Panama canal/universal measurement system tons.
   The Panama Canal Authority said Monday that an average of some 38.5 vessels a day transited the canal daily in the 2004 fiscal year. Panamax vessel transits increased 12.1 percent to 5,309 from 4,737 in fiscal year 2003.
   “Increased Panamax vessel transits is due to a resurge in the transits of tankers and dry bulkers in addition to a steady rise in the number of container vessels used to transport goods, particularly to and from Asia,” the canal authority said.
   About 22 percent of Asia/U.S. eastbound containers now move via U.S. East Coast ports, as shippers increasingly seek alternative routes to the West Coast ports.
   Canal waters time, defined as the average time it takes a vessel to navigate the canal including waiting time for passage, increased 17.4 percent to 26.66 hours in the latest fiscal year, from 22.70 hours a year earlier. However, the canal authority said that time for booked vessels increased only 1.4 percent to 16.41 hours, from 16.18 hours in fiscal year 2003. Booked vessels account for more than 50 percent of all canal transits.
   Despite the increased traffic, the Panama Canal Authority recorded the lowest number of accidents in the last 81 years: 10 official accidents in the past fiscal year.