Cargo Business Newswire

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

China Cosco Shipping to take 1st trip through expanded Panama Canal

A China COSCO Shipping vessel won the drawing to be first to transit through the expanded Panama Canal, according to a statement from the waterway.

More than 100 neo-Panamax vessel reservations have been made for commercial transit. China COSCO Shipping will be the first to negotiate the expanded waterway at its opening on Sunday,
June 26.

The container vessel Andronikos will be making the inaugural transit. The ship has a maximum capacity of 9,400 TEUs, is 8.25 meters in beam and 299.98 meters in length.

The draw took place this morning at the Panama Canal Administration Building, in which a Notary

Public served as witness, among invited attendees. The Norwegian/Swedish shipping line Wallenius Wilhemsen Lines (WWL) and the Chinese shipping line China COSCO Shipping participated in the draw.

WWL participated with the car carrier Thalatta. The car carrier, which has a maximum capacity of 8,000 CEUs (car equivalent units), is 36.5 meters in beam and 199.97 meters in length.

"It is a great honor to have one of our top customers celebrate this historical moment with us," said Panama Canal administrator, Jorge L. Quijano. "We are excited and prepared to continue providing the same reliable and efficient service within the Expanded Panama Canal that our customers have come to expect through the years."