Panama Canal’s Temporary Booking System to Increase Equitable Slot Access

The Panama Canal announced temporary modifications to its Transit Reservation (Booking) System for Neopanamax vessels aimed to provide greater flexibility, improve the distribution of available capacity across market segments, and encourage the efficient use of water resources.

The measures are designed to respond more effectively to customers’ evolving needs while preserving the predictability and operational standards on which the maritime industry relies.

The changes will take effect Aug. 30, for booking dates beginning Sept. 13. 

Key takeaways:

·        Under the revised rules, Neopanamax customers will be permitted to obtain more than one reservation slot for the same booking date and will be permitted to obtain slots for two or more consecutive booking dates. These modifications temporarily remove certain restrictions established under Advisory A-28-2026. 

·        A total of 63 Neopanamax reservation slots will be offered each week, including slots allocated through the Long-Term Slot Allocation (LoTSA) and NetZero programs.  

·        Customers will also retain flexibility to swap or substitute vessels following the allocation of a slot provided that the replacement vessel has the same or greater Transit TEU Allowance (TTA) capacity, and that applicable customer limits are respected. Vessels operating under alliances or vessel-sharing agreements may also participate in eligible swaps or substitutions as long as those transactions do not result in a customer exceeding the maximum number of slots allowed.  

·        The revised system establishes minimum allocations across the Panama Canal's principal market segments to help ensure broad access to available reservation capacity.  

·        For full container vessels a minimum of five slots per booking date will be allocated, with distribution based on vessel TTA capacity. LPG vessels will receive a minimum of three slots per booking date based on customer ranking, and LNG vessels also receive three slots based on customer ranking. In the vehicle carriers/RoRo, bulkers and other segments, a minimum of three  slots per week will be allocated and distributed based on the customer ranking. 

·        This approach is intended to reduce the risk of available capacity going unused while maintaining defined allocation criteria across different customer groups.