The Panama Canal has announced temporary changes to its Transit Reservation (Booking) System for Neopanamax vessels.
The changes are aimed at giving customers greater flexibility, improving how available capacity is distributed across market segments, and encouraging efficient use of water resources.
The changes follow customer feedback and current operating conditions, and are intended to respond to evolving needs while preserving the predictability and operational standards the industry relies on.
They take effect from 30 August 2026, applying to booking dates from 13 September 2026.
Under the revised rules, Neopanamax customers will be permitted to hold more than one reservation slot for the same booking date, and slots for two or more consecutive booking dates, temporarily lifting restrictions set under Advisory A-28-2026.
A total of 63 Neopanamax reservation slots will be offered each week, including those allocated through the Long-Term Slot Allocation (LoTSA) and NetZero programmes.
Customers will retain the flexibility to swap or substitute vessels after a slot has been allocated, provided the replacement vessel has equal or greater Transit TEU Allowance (TTA) capacity and customer limits are respected.
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Vessels operating under alliances or vessel-sharing agreements may also take part in eligible swaps or substitutions, so long as this does not push a customer beyond its maximum slot allowance. Booking date changes may also be permitted under the same condition.
The revised system sets minimum allocations across the canal’s principal market segments to support broad access to reservation capacity.
Full Container vessels will receive a minimum of five slots per booking date, distributed by TTA capacity.
LPG and LNG vessels will each receive a minimum of three slots per booking date, based on customer ranking. Vehicle Carriers/RoRo, Bulkers and Other segments will each receive a minimum of three slots per week, also based on customer ranking.
Where demand within a segment falls short of filling its allocated slots, remaining capacity will be redistributed to other eligible segments under an order set out in the advisory, with unassigned slots remaining available throughout the booking period.
The Panama Canal said transparent criteria will continue to apply to the allocation process.
For more information:
Panama Canal Authority – https://pancanal.com/
