• Panama Canal customers reiterate their confidence in the Canal during meeting with the Panama Canal Administrator

Panama City, Panama, August 4, 2016 – Today, following the Expanded Panama Canal’s first month of operations, the Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano presented representatives of shipping lines and shipping agents with an update on the operations of the Expanded Canal, ensuring customers about the safe operation of the new locks.
“We are very pleased with the first month of activity at the Expanded Canal,” said Mr. Quijano. “We have the highest esteem for our customers, and we are glad that they have decided to come on board to be part of the newly expanded Canal.”

The Administrator explained to those in attendance that more than 70 vessels have transited since the Expanded Canal’s opening, with only a minor incident taking place.

During the meeting, customers reiterated their confidence and satisfaction with the levels of safety and service offered by the Panama Canal, and Mr. Quijano echoed the Canal’s commitment to safety and the training of its highly-skilled workforce.

Since the Canal’s transfer of ownership on December 31, 1999, the Panama Canal Authority has implemented a number of measures to greatly improve the Canal’s efficiency and safety, thereby increasing customer confidence. Just last year, in FY 2015, the Canal achieved a 0.1% incident rate, while also transiting a record amount of cargo tonnage.

Representatives of shipping lines MOL, Maersk, MSC, Hamburg Sud, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and China COSCO Shipping were in attendance, as well as shipping agents Wilhemsen Ship Service, Norton Lilly International, Continental Agencies S.A., Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., Unigreen Marine S.A., Boyd Steamship Corporation, Associated Steamship Agents, S.A., and C. B. Fenton.

“We look forward to setting more milestones and making more progress to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations and the quality of service they have come to expect at the Panama Canal,” said the Administrator. “Our commitment to our customers and the maritime industry is paramount.”

About the Panama Canal Authority
The Panama Canal is run by an autonomous agency of the Government of Panama in charge of managing, operating and maintaining the Panama Canal. The operation of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) is based on its organic law and the regulations approved by its Board of Directors. For more information, please refer to the ACP’s website: http://www.pancanal.com or follow us on Twitter @thepanamacanal.

About the Panama Canal Expansion
The Panama Canal Expansion is the largest enhancement project since the Canal’s opening in 1914. Considered and analyzed for a decade with more than 100 studies, the Expansion provides the world’s shippers, retailers, manufacturers and consumers with greater shipping options, better maritime service, enhanced logistics and supply-chain reliability. The Expansion included the construction of a new set of locks on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the waterway, creating a third lane of traffic and doubling the cargo capacity of the waterway. While the Expanded locks are 70 feet wider and 18 feet deeper than those in the original Canal, they use less water due to water-savings basins that recycle 60 percent of the water used per transit. In line with its commitment to customer service, the Panama Canal will continue to provide the world with value for another century and beyond.