Changes to the Transit Reservation System rules (Correction)

28 Feb 2023 / Panama Canal, Panama

In response to several inquiries regarding the changes to the Transit Reservation System rules announced in Advisory to Shipping A-05-2023 of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), the following information is provided:

1. The first tiebreaker competition for the modified Period 1.a will commence at 0900 hours March 1, 2023, for the date March 31, 2023. The competitions for other booking periods will be done in the usual manner.

2. During the transition period, there will be days where the slots that have already been awarded during Booking Periods 1 and 1.a will affect the new slot distribution and availability for those periods and for subsequent periods. Therefore, it is possible that at the opening of some periods, there may be no slots available.

3. Beginning March 1, 2023, LPG vessels will be allowed to participate for slots in Period 1.a, at the opening of the tiebreaker competition for March 31, 2023. For slots between March 16 and March 30, 2023, requests from LPG vessels will not be accepted while Period 1.a is open. They may participate once Period 2 opens for these dates.

4. For dates between March 16 and March 30, 2023, booking slots for LNG vessels will be limited to only one (1) per day while Period 1.a is still in effect.

5. Passenger vessels are not allowed to participate for slots during Period 1.a. During this period, only full containers, LNG and LPG vessels are allowed.

6. The award process for slots offered during special competitions for any booking period will be based on the priorities established for each corresponding period, as established in Advisory to Shipping A-05-2023.

7. The first “daily auction” for southbound vessels 7 days prior to transit date will be offered on March 9, 2023, for the date March 16, 2023. The Tuesday and Wednesday auctions for March 7, 8, 14 and 15, 2023 will be offered in the usual manner.

In order to promote a smooth transition from the current booking periods and slot distribution to the modified periods and slot distribution, the closing time for submitting booking requests will be 1530 hours, February 28, 2023. All requests received after 1530 hours, but prior to midnight, will be discarded. Requests received after 0000 hours, March 1, 2023, will be processed based on the new rules.

(For information about operations in Panama, contact GAC Panama at [email protected])

Source: Panama Canal Authority Advisory to Shipping No. A-07-2023 dated 27 February 2023

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