Panama Canal allows swapping and substitution of booking slots between container vessels for Cooperative Working Agreement members from next year
Effective January 1, 2025, swapping and substitution of booking slots between container vessels for Cooperative Working Agreement members (Global Alliances of Vessel Sharing Agreements (VSA) ) will be allowed, under the following conditions:
* Both vessels must be of the same type and must belong to the containership segment.
* Both vessels must belong to the same vessel classification (Neo-panamax, Super or Regular).
* Both vessels must be transiting in the same direction.
* For swaps, vessels must have similar transit restrictions, and for substitutions, the new vessel must have similar or lesser transit restrictions.
* Both vessel operators must belong to services under the same cooperative working agreement (Global Alliances or VSA).
* The booking date of the vessels involved in the swap or substitution must be within the effective date of the services and of the Alliance or VSA.
* All other Long Term Slot Allocation method (LoTSA) and ordinary booking slots rules remain in effect.
For substitution and swapping of slots acquired through the LoTSA, refer to the terms and conditions for this initiative in the following link: https://pancanal.com/en/maritime-services/vessel-eta-and-transit-booking/
Substitution and swapping of booking slots through the ordinary Reservation System maintain the same terms and conditions as published in Notice to Shipping N-7-2024.
To be considered a Cooperative Working Agreement member in the Panama Canal, refer to the procedure “Panama Canal Authority – Cooperative Working Agreement request – Terms and Conditions” at https://panama.com/en/
Vessel agents or shipping lines interested in participating in swaps or substitutions within Cooperative Working Agreement members shall send documentation regarding the agreement to operationservices@pancanal.com. The ACP may request additional information from shipping lines to verify their membership in the Cooperation Working Agreement. It is important that vessel agents register in the Maritime Service Portal the corresponding liner service for each vessel’s visit prior to submitting the request for swap or substitution, said the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Advisory to Shipping No.A-42-2024 issued last week.
Source : Our Correspondent