Building the New Panama Canal

marinelog.com The Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced today that it has published its proposal to restructure the Panama Canal’s pricing system and certain regulations. On February 2, 2007, the ACP announced its desire to move toward a charge that reflects the commercial value of the service and route. After a 30-day public consultation period, the ACP conducted a hearing on March 14. The proposal announced today has been slightly modified from the February proposal: At the request of the industry, implementation of the new charges has been postponed from May 2007 to July 2007. Due to this modification, the ACP today is reopening the issue for public comment and will consider additional input, suggestions and feedback from interested parties over the next 15 days. After receiving comments and feedback from the maritime and shipping industry during its official consultation period, the ACP responded to industry requests by changing the proposal and postponing implementation of the new pricing. Moreover, with this proposal, the ACP is providing its customers with guaranteed pricing to 2009 — something no one else in the industry does. (more)

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PANAMA CITY, Panama, April 26, 2007 – Following a recommendation from the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), the Cabinet Council of the Republic of Panama yesterday approved the proposal to restructure the Panama Canal’s pricing system and certain regulations. On February 2, 2007, the ACP announced its desire to move toward a charge that moves closer to the commercial value of the service and route. After a more than 30-day public consultation period, in which a total of 21 written submissions were received, the ACP conducted a hearing on March 14 where a total of 14 representatives from shipping and government expressed their views. On April 5, in response to industry requests, the proposal was slightly modified: implementation of the new charges, for certain segments, was postponed from May 2007 to July 1, 2007. These segments include: general cargo, dry bulk, tankers and vehicle carriers. Due to this modification, the issue was reopened for public comment for a 15-day period. A total of 10 written submissions, in both English and Spanish, were received by the ACP from various individuals and groups. (more)

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