July 30, 2015 [OPIS] - Xylem Inc., a contractor for the Panama Canal Expansion Program, said on Wednesday that the waterway expansion is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2016.
This is in line with the Panama Canal Authority approval in April for both new tolls for existing canal locks and a new toll structure for the new, larger locks effective April 1, 2016, to coincide with the completion of the expansion project.
The canal expansion creates a new traffic lane and builds two new lock complexes, one on the Atlantic Ocean and the other on the Pacific, allowing for the passage of New Panamax ships, doubling the capacity of the Canal.
The expanded canal is expected to present fresh opportunities for certain oil trades for medium-haul Aframax tankers between the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the canal as well as longer-haul Suezmax voyages.
Currently, only a 450,000-bbl capacity Panamax-size tanker could transit through the Panama Canal, but after its ongoing expansion, the canal will be able to accommodate tankers as large as Suezmax vessels.
It is noted that the actual tanker capacity would depend on vessel draft limitations at individual ports.
Xylem is a global water technology company is providing its heavy duty Godwin dewatering pumps to fill the third set of basin locks on the Pacific Ocean sector, with 1.7 billion gallons of water, as part of performance trials for the system prior to its commissioning.
This is the second project that the ACP has awarded to Xylem under the Panama Canal Expansion Program. Earlier this year, Xylem supplied 64 Flygt mixers to prevent the formation of corrosive deposits on the rolling gates during installation.
To support the dewatering project, Xylem installed 15 Godwin diesel-driven pumps, deployed from the U.S. In June, these pumps transported up to 122 million gallons of water per day (MGD) from the Miraflores Lake to fill the third set of locks on the Pacific. Over a period of 22 days, the project consisted of pumping enough water to fill 90,000 average sized swimming pools.
The third set of basin locks includes reuse basins that will save water and also improve the Panama Canal’s efficiency, using seven percent less water compared with the amount currently used by the existing locks. In addition, in each transit operation, 60% of the water will be recycled.
