Panama Canal Revises Rules on Bunkering Ops for LNG Carriers

Panama Canal Authority Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carriers in Panama Canals anchorage areas are now permitted to receive bunkers only within the Explosives Area of the Pacific Anchorage on a space-available basis, after coordination with Panama Canal Authoritys (ACP) Flamenco Signal Station, the ACP said. The permission comes after the ACP reassessed the current prohibition for LNG vessels to receive bunkers while in the anchorages of the Panama Canal. These bunkering operations shall not interfere with the vessels schedule to transit the Canal, the ACP said. LNG carriers started traversing the Panama Canal after the waterway opened its locks earlier this year. The first-ever LNG carrier which transited the Expanded Panama Canal was Shell-chartered Maran Gas Apollonia. The Expanded Canal can accommodate 90 percent of the world’s LNG tankers, which will have a major impact on global LNG flows and offer numerous benefits to shippers, according to the ACP.