Maritime Industry News…In Brief

SUEZ CANAL . . . The new Suez Canal which is due to open on 6 August 2015 will increase the capacity of the existing canal allowing ships to pass north and south concurrently. The long term goal is to increase the daily average of transiting vessels from 49 ships presently to 97 ships by the year 2023, and increase the permissible draft to 66 feet. The waiting time is expected to be shortened to three hours (as opposed to the current 8-11 hours) and transit time will be cut to 11 hours (instead of 18-22 hours). www.suezcanal.gov.eg/nc.aspx PANAMA CANAL...