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Panama Canal reports 30% drop in LNG tanker transits
PANAMA
ILYA Espino de Marotta, the deputy administra- tor of the Panama Canal Authority (PCA), said last week that the number of LNG tankers pass- ing through the Panama Canal had dropped by nearly a third over the last nine months.
In an interview with Reuters, Espino de Marotta noted that LNG tanker transits through the canal had declined by 30% in the last three quarters.
Demand for US-produced gas has been weaker in Asian markets, and this has helped accelerate the downturn by discouraging exports from the US Gulf Coast (USGC) region, she said.
Reuters confirmed her remarks, noting that Asian gas demand has been sluggish in recent months due to warmer-than-anticipated tem- peratures. It also pointed out that Asian buyers have been particularly quick to opt out of buy- ing US LNG because of the high transport costs associated with long-haul shipments from the USGC region.
In the meantime, Espino de Marotta
commented, the shift in Asian gas markets is opening up new opportunities for US LNG pro- ducers in Europe, where demand is definitely growing stronger. “Much of [the] LNG from the US Gulf Coast traditionally going to Asia is being diverted to Europe,” she told Reuters.
The deputy administrator went on to say that LNG tanker transits through the Panama Canal had also dropped in the wake of the fire and explosion that forced the shutdown of the Freeport LNG’s gas liquefaction plant and export terminal on Quintana Island in Texas on June 8. With the plant closed, there are constraints on US LNG export capacity, even though European demand remains strong, she noted.
She also stated that the reduction in LNG tanker transits had been coupled with an increase in transits by some other types of vessels, such as LPG tankers and cruise ships. Nevertheless, she said, PCA does expect the number of LNG shipments to recover during the next fiscal year, which begins in October.
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 32 11•August•2022
