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Customer Information

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Frequent Questions

This document contains answers to frequently asked questions our clients ask about scheduling transits in the Panama Canal. If you have any questions that have not been included, or if you would like more information, please contact us at our customer service department at customerService@pancanal.com.

Administration and Operation of Ship Transit in the Panama Canal

The main objective of the ACP’s Transit Operations Division is to provide all vessels with safe, reliable and expeditious transit through the Panama Canal.

The Maritime Traffic Control Unit, of the Transit Operations Division, is responsible for the programming, coordination and monitoring of ship traffic through the Panama Canal, including the terminal ports of Balboa, on the Pacific side, and from Cristóbal, on the Atlantic side. The daily preparation of the ship transit schedule is an extremely complex process due to the considerable amount of rules, regulations, restrictions and conditions existing in the Canal. Weather conditions, the number and mix of vessels, and the availability of the plant and resources are some of the factors that influence the daily scheduling of transits.

What determines the number of vessels in the schedule?
The number of ships that can be included in the schedule basically depends on the mix of ships available for transit (ship types and sizes); the drafts of the vessels (vessels with greater drafts require more processing time in the locks) Canal conditions (availability of the plant and resources); and vessel restrictions on the Canal (for example, whether the vessel must transit only during daylight hours or whether it may encounter traffic in the opposite direction in the navigation channels). For these reasons, the number of vessels on the schedule varies from day to day.
What determines the number of vessels in the schedule?
The number of ships that can be included in the schedule basically depends on the mix of ships available for transit (ship types and sizes); the drafts of the vessels (vessels with greater drafts require more processing time in the locks) Canal conditions (availability of the plant and resources); and vessel restrictions on the Canal (for example, whether the vessel must transit only during daylight hours or whether it may encounter traffic in the opposite direction in the navigation channels). For these reasons, the number of vessels on the schedule varies from day to day.