Panama Canal Authority fiscal year sees improved tonnage, revenue

Panama Canal Authority fiscal year sees improved tonnage, revenue    The Panama Canal Authority said Tuesday it's fiscal year ended Sept. 30 saw increases in tonnage and revenues, and decreases in accidents and vessel navigation times.
   Revenues for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 increased 15 percent to $921 million, while tonnage improved 3 percent to 242.5 million tons.
   The canal saw a substantial increase in the number of Panamax ships served in fiscal year 2003. The number of ships handled measuring 900 feet or more in overall length increased 37 percent to 980. Forty percent of the 11,725 oceangoing vessels transiting the canal were Panamax sized, compared to 38.5 percent in fiscal year 2002.
   The trend toward the Panamax vessels also resulted in a dramatic rise in containerized cargoes, the canal authority said. Other goods that showed increases in fiscal 2003 were grains, automobiles and auto parts, chemicals and petrochemicals, refrigerated products and coke carbon.
   Canal Waters Time (CWT), or the average time it takes a vessel to navigate the canal including waiting time for passage, slipped below 23 hours in fiscal year 2003. Also, the number of maritime accidents decreased 29.4 percent to 12, compared to 17 in both 2002 and 2001.
   During the fiscal year the canal authority deepened the Gatun Lake channel, acquired new locomotives and rehabilitated tracks, added new tugboats, improved aids to navigation and implemented a vessel tracking system.