The Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (ACP – Panama Canal Authority) will increase the number of daily slots available for booking through the Neopanamax locks from nine to ten for transit dates from 15 October 2026. The change is set out in Advisory to Shipping A-36-2026, issued on 28 September and addressed to shipping agents, shipowners and operators. With the additional slot, the Canal will offer 33 bookable transits per day across the Neopanamax and Panamax locks, compared with the current 32. In the same advisory, the ACP raised with immediate effect, and until further notice, the maximum authorised draught through the Neopanamax locks to 14.94 metres, equivalent to 49 feet in tropical fresh water, up from the previous limit of 48 feet in force since early September. The increases have been made possible by September rainfall, which was close to the basin average, the effectiveness of water-saving measures applied at the locks, and the current and forecast level of Gatún Lake. The water shortage nevertheless remains, and the booking system is still the only way to guarantee a transit date. Vessels without a booking can still transit, but may face lengthy waiting times.
The figure of 33 refers to the daily slot capacity of the entire system and does not necessarily mean 33 Neopanamax vessel transits. The allocation comprises ten slots for the Neopanamax locks, 18 for Panamax Supers and five for Panamax Regulars, meaning the historic locks remain at 23 slots, the level in force since 15 September. Thirty slots are assigned through booking periods and three through the daily auction, one for each category. Of the nine Neopanamax slots not offered at auction, one falls within the special period more than 90 days in advance, three are allocated through the Lotsa and NetZero programmes, three through booking period 1A, from 30 to 15 days before transit, and two through period 2, from 14 to eight days in advance, which includes the so-called conditioned slot. For bookings from 15 October, the limit on the number of slots that can be obtained by the same customer per date or per week will be removed, and consecutive dates may be booked.
The advisory also confirms the minimum allocations reserved for each type of vessel. Container ships are allocated at least six slots per date, or 42 per week, distributed according to vessel capacity: two for ships below 9,000 TEU, two for those between 9,000 and 13,499 TEU, and two for vessels of 13,500 TEU or more. LPG carriers have a minimum of three slots per date, or 21 per week, while LNG carriers are allocated four per week. Car carriers/ro-ro vessels, bulk carriers and other ship types have at least three weekly slots. The maximum allocations by segment may be exceeded if customers from other market segments do not take up available slots, with unused capacity transferred to other vessel categories according to a predefined order of priority.
The announcement of the increase only partly eases the restrictions introduced during the water crisis linked to El Niño. At the beginning of September, Neopanamax slots were reduced to nine and the maximum draught to 48 feet, while from 15 September the number of Panamax slots fell to 23. A further reduction in draught to 47.5 feet, scheduled for 1 October, was cancelled in September. For the Panamax locks, the draught remains at 39.5 feet. These restrictions have disrupted vessel rotations and pushed up the cost of securing a transit: in August, a record bid of $5.3 million, around €4.6 million, was reported for the passage of an LPG carrier.
Antonio Illariuzzi
