The Panama Canal Advisory Board and Board of Directors gathered this week in Savannah, Georgia, where they discussed the Canal’s performance, strategic foresight, maritime trends and water issues, as part of their biannual meetings.

The Advisory Board meets once or twice a year in Panama and/or a city linked to the maritime industry. Savannah was selected this year given a significant amount of cargo, primarily containerized cargo, travels to its port after passing through the waterway, particularly since the inauguration of the Expanded Canal in 2016.

“Savannah gave us the chance to confirm the positive impact of Expanded Canal on trade, particularly coming to this new dynamic port destination, as well as to look into future opportunities in liquefied natural gas trade sourced from the new export terminal at Elba Island,” said Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vásquez Morales. “Multimodal connectivity out of Savannah opens further business possibilities for our common customer base. We look forward to further enhancing our joint potential.”

Established in 1999, the Advisory Board provides regular updates to the Panama Canal on the maritime sector’s development and activities worldwide. The Advisory Board offers valuable guidance to Panama Canal, enabling them to formulate strategies to further strengthen the efficiency, safety and reliability of the waterway’s operations and the competitiveness of the route.

The Advisory Board is composed of distinguished advisers, who possess intimate knowledge of the Panama Canal and extensive experience in the international business, transportation and world trade, telecommunications, civil construction and development, banking and academic sectors.
Source: Panama Canal Authority