THE TRAFFIC OF VESSELS THROUGH THE PANAMA CANAL WENT 5 PERCENT UP

IN 2017, EXACTLY 13,666 SAILED THROUGH THE PANAMA CANAL, WHICH IS A 5 PERCENT INCREASE IF COMPARED TO

THE FIGURE REPORTED BACK IN 2016, ACCORDING TO THE NUMBERS PROVIDED BY THE STATISTICS AND CENSUS INSTITUTE (INEC IS THE SPANISH ACRONYM), AND ENTITY MANAGED BY THE GENERAL FINANCE OFFICE OF THE REPUBLIC, AND SPREAD BY LA ESTRELLA DE PANAMÁ.

THIS GROWTH WAS MAINLY BOOSTED BY DEEP-DRAFT SHIPS. UP TO DECEMBER 2017, THE CANAL WAS SAILED THROUGH BY 12,112 DEEP-DRAFT VESSELS, WHILE 11,568 SIMILAR SHIPS WERE REPORTED IN THE SAME PERIOD OF 2016. WHEN COMPARING BOTH YEARS, 2017 FINISHED 544 VESSELS OR 4.7 PERCENT UP.

On the other hand, the INEC pointed out that the traffic of shallow-draft ships also delivered positive figures in this period. Some 1,554 ships of this type went through this waterway, while 1,447 were counted in 2016, so it is a 7.4 percent increase.