The Liberian MSC UNITED VIII container ship transits in the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama March 10, 2023.
The Panama Canal Authority last week opened two additional slots per day for vessels without booking to transit to help clear bottlenecks on both sides of the interoceanic corridor.
As of Tuesday, 125 booked and non-booked vessels were waiting to pass, down from more than 160 ships two weeks ago, according to official numbers.
However, the average wait time for vessels to pass has risen to between 10 and 11 days this month, from 6-7 days last month.
The waiting surpasses 17 days for cargo vessels and liquefied petroleum gas carriers, and is almost 13 days for tankers.
Persons:
Aris Martinez, Gustavo Petro, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Abe Eshkenazi, Elida Moreno, Marianna Parraga, Marguerita Choy
Organizations:
Liberian MSC UNITED, REUTERS, PANAMA CITY, Panama Canal Authority, Reuters, Tuesday, Panama, U.S, U.S ., Association for Supply Chain Management, Thomson
Locations:
Cocoli, Panama, Panama City, PANAMA, Asia, South America, Europe, China, U.S . West Coast, Chicago, Houston