The Panama Canal Authority says it has booked the primary LNG tanker via the expanded Panama Canal as business operations of the improved waterway get underway.

Panama inaugurated the $5.25 billion enlargement challenge on Sunday with the transit of the containership MV Cosco Shipping Panama and by Monday the primary vessels started making their method via the Canal’s new locks.

The Canal Authority says that to this point it has booked 170 so-called Neopanamax ships via the brand new locks, together with the primary LNG vessel to make the transit in late July.

Bloomberg studies that BP is sending the primary cargo via the broader Panama Canal on board the LNG tanker British Merchant, which can start its journey in Trinidad & Tobago earlier than heading to the canal for passage to the Pacific Ocean. The tanker has a capability of 138,517 cubic meters of gasoline.

Not solely will the enlargement challenge increase the cargo capability of the Panama Canal, however it additionally opens the waterway as much as new providers and segments, corresponding to liquified pure gasoline (LNG) for the primary time.

“We are thrilled that we currently have 170 reservations for Neopanamax ships, commitments of two new liner services to the Expanded Canal, and a reservation for the first LNG vessel, which will transit in late July,” stated Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano, talking earlier than a big crowd at Sunday’s inauguration. “Our customers care that their supply chain is reliable and that they have a diversity of shipping options. And the Canal has always been reliable; today, we offer the world new shipping options and trade routes.”

Panama has stated it expects 20 million tons of liquefied pure gasoline to cross via the canal yearly as soon as operations are in full swing.

See: Expanded Panama Canal Preparing for New Era of LNG