Traffic will increase

PANAMA. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has constructed a second tied-up station that will allow at least an extra vessel to transit the canal per day.

The station located in Cartagena approach will, according to the ACP increase efficiency.

The way the ACP schedules vessel transits, traffic goes northbound (Pacific to Atlantic) in the morning and switches to southbound (Atlantic to Pacific) in the afternoon.

Before the introduction of these tie-up stations, in the afternoon, for example, the two locks on the Pacific end of the Canal would have been idle until nearly the end of all of the southbound traffic.

The tie-up stations utilize this down time by allowing northbound traffic in the afternoon to go through both the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks – then these ships are secured at the tie-up station, wait for all of the southbound traffic to pass and continue their transit.

Along with the new track and turntable system in the Gatun locks and an enhanced tug fleet, the ACP has increased daily transits to more than 40 per day.

ACP Executive Vice President of Operations Manuel Benítez said that “with each additional vessel that we transit we increase capacity and save money.”