Panama Canal Lock Maintenance Tentatively Scheduled, Reducing Transit Capacity

This article has been reprinted from the Aug. 29 USDA Grain Transportation Report.

Maintenance and repair work are scheduled for the center wall of the Gatun Panamax Locks on the Panama Canal from August 26 to September 6, 2019.

In addition, the East and West Lanes of the Gatun Locks are scheduled for maintenance and repair work for 12 hours daily on September 5 and 6.

Due to the maintenance work, the estimated transit capacity of the Canal is 27–29 vessels per day, rather than the normal transit capacity of 32–34 vessels, depending on vessel mix and other factors.

At this time, no major delays are anticipated despite the reduction in transit capacity.