BP’s British Merchant set for first LNG transit of Panama Canal

BP’s British Merchant with a 135,500-cbm capacity is the first liquefied natural gas carrier to transit the expanded Panama Canal late July. 

According to the Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators (SIGTTO), the vessel is scheduled to transit the new locks on July 26, carrying a cargo from Trinidad and Tobago to Chile.

Panama Canal Authority (ACP) on Tuesday informed that the first liquefied petroleum tanker Lycaste Peace, owned by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line), transited the newly inaugurated expanded Panama Canal.

The vessel set off from Houston and is heading for the port of Hitachi in Japan, and it was the first of over 170 reservations already received for transit through the expanded canal. The second LPG carrier, Passat, owned by Avance Gas, also transited on Monday.

The inaugural commercial transit of the new locks was done by COSCO Shipping Panama during the opening ceremony on Sunday.

LNG World News Staff