The Panama Canal has implemented a new Long-Term Slot Allocation (LoTSA) system for large vessels, which aims to increase transit certainty and flexibility.
The changes to the authority’s Transit Booking System were announced in a recent shipping advisory.
The new method, which applies to Neo-Panamax vessels, will offer several transit booking slot packages corresponding to different market segments. This allows a single customer to obtain multiple bookings in one transaction.
The packages will offer a set number of slots, with weekly or monthly frequency per year, for both northbound and southbound transits.
Details of the packages will be announced on the pancanal.com website and will be awarded to the highest bidder through an auction, according to a statement released by the authority.
Customers will provide sealed bids reflecting the exact amount they are willing to pay for each slot in the package. The starting price is $200 000.
These are divided into:
- Period 1 for bookings 90 days before transit.
- Period 1A for bookings from 30 to 15 days.
- Period 2 for bookings between 14 and 8 days.
- Period 3 for bookings from 7 to 2 days.
The LoTSA method is added to these, with availability within the various slot packages.
The auctions for booking dates from January 5, 2025 to January 3, 2026 will start on September 2.
The authority said it had implemented the system in response to the changing needs of the maritime industry, and it is expected to provide certainty regarding long-term reservations.
Meanwhile, Panama Canal deputy administrator Ilya Marotta recently told Reuters that operations were back to normal, with 34 transits, which will increase to 35 on August 5.
