Americas News
Vessel Hits Wall in Expanded Panama Canal
Safety concerns over the newly expanded Panama Canal have seemingly been validated after a vessel recently struck the wall at the new dock on the Atlantic side of the expanded canal.
As Ship & Bunker previously reported, some critics say the new locks are too small to safely accommodate some of the larger neo-panamax vessels.
Last Thursday's incident involved the 8,500 TEU China Cosco Shipping (China Cosco) containership, Xin Fei Zhou.
The ship is reported to have sustained a gash, while the canal wall also received minor damage during the incident.
While traffic was not affected and no pollution has been reported, canal authorities are said to be investigating the matter.
According to the BBC, there have been three such incidents since the canal opened last month.
If successful, the expanded canal is expected to be a key driver for increased traffic to the US East Coast and the Caribbean, giving a boost to regions' bunkering in the process.
