Three LNG carriers started northbound transits of the Panama Canal yesterday, with two completing the passage in the same day, as demand for Pacific-Atlantic crossings ticks higher.

The Panama Canal offers a maximum of two LNG carrier transits each day, although it has on occasion accommodated up to four daily transits. But only on a few occasions has the canal undertaken three northbound crossings in a single day.

Demand for northbound transit at Panama — primarily from empty carriers returning to load at US liquefaction projects — has held strong so far in January, while southbound transits have slowed as laden carriers heading to northeast Asia have changed routes to sail via the Suez Canal.

The Canal Authority offers the two daily bookable LNG transits as either both northbound, or one each way, suggesting a greater chance of attaining a northbound crossing than a southbound. This may explain why laden carriers from the US are heading to northeast Asia via Suez, but returning empty carriers are continuing to sail via Panama.

But the high volume of returning LNG tonnage has led to significant queues and delays south of the canal for LNG carriers awaiting transit. On 1-25 January, carriers awaiting northbound passage waited an average of three days, with some waiting as many as eight. And there are two carriers south of the waterway that have already waited for 10-11 days.

In comparison, the average wait for a southbound transit over the same period has fallen to around 2.5 days, with a maximum wait of six days.

That said, as fog at US Gulf coast liquefaction facilities has disrupted loadings in recent days, minor delays at Panama for returning vessels may have had limited impact on loading schedules.

By Samuel Good

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