The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced temporary modifications to its Transit Reservation (Booking) System for Neopanamax vessels, effective August 30 for booking dates beginning September 13. Under the revised rules, Neopanamax customers will be permitted to obtain more than one reservation slot for the same booking date and will be permitted to obtain slots for two or more consecutive booking dates, reversing restrictions imposed earlier this year under Advisory A-28-2026. A total of 63 Neopanamax reservation slots will be offered each week, including capacity allocated through the canal’s Long-Term Slot Allocation (LoTSA) and NetZero programs, and customers will retain flexibility to swap or substitute vessels after a slot has been allocated provided the replacement vessel carries the same or greater Transit TEU Allowance.
The move comes as the canal faces a difficult combination of strong vessel demand and a deteriorating water outlook, with the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) framing the change as an effort to improve distribution of available capacity across market segments while encouraging efficient use of water resources. Just days earlier, on August 21, the ACP had cut daily Neopanamax slots to nine and suspended the Conditioned-slot category as part of ongoing drought-management measures, underscoring how quickly booking policy has shifted in recent weeks. Administrator Ricaurte Vasquez has separately warned that forecasters expect a longer-than-usual dry pattern in the canal’s watershed, adding pressure on the authority to balance throughput against long-term conservation of Gatun Lake’s reserves.
Source: gCaptain — https://gcaptain.com/panama-canal-loosens-neopanamax-booking-rules-as-capacity-tightens/
Tags: Panama Canal, Water Deficit, Neopanamax, Shipping Logistics
