据天然气资讯2月5日消息称，由于最近能源市场的激增，巴拿马运河在1月份创下了过境和液化天然气船舶吨位的月度新纪录。
一月份，共有58艘液化天然气船通过Neopanamax船闸过境，总计674万巴拿马运河吨（PC/UMS）。此前的月度记录是在2020年1月创下的54次过境，以及在2020年11月创下的623万PC/UMS。
巴拿马运河管理员Ricaurte Vásquez Morales说：“这些成就重申了运河的适应能力，并保证了我们的竞争力和可靠性，以抓住市场变化带来的机遇，包括液化天然气市场在内。一个多世纪以来，巴拿马运河已经显示出它对全球贸易变化的反应能力，过去一年世界经历的情况也不会例外。”
巴拿马运河最近对其进程进行了调整，使其运作更具灵活性，并更有效地应对海上贸易需求的不断变化，这反映在目前使用该水道的船只组合上。
1月，巴拿马运河宣布对过境预订系统进行修改。
自修改以来，该运河已经进行了25次拍卖，其中9次被授予液化天然气船。此外，运河能够在1月25日的一天内通过三艘向北的液化天然气船，并在1月31日的一天内通过四艘液化天然气船，两艘向北和两艘向南。这使运河能够最大限度地提高运输服务的效率和灵活性，以更好地应对目前的需求。
通过巴拿马运河的液化天然气过境量，是亚洲冬季气温创纪录的结果，这已导致液化天然气价格升至前所未有的水平。
曹海斌 摘译自 天然气资讯
原文如下：
Panama Canal sets LNG transit and tonnage record
The Panama Canal set a new monthly record for transits and tonnage of LNG vessels in January, as a result of the recent surge in the energy market.
In January, a total of 58 LNG vessels transited through the Neopanamax Locks, totalling 6.74 million Panama Canal tons (PC/UMS). The previous monthly records were set in January 2020 with 54 transits and in November 2020 with 6.23 million PC/UMS.
“These achievements reaffirm the Canal’s ability to adapt and guarantee our competitiveness and reliability to capture the opportunities presented by market changes, including the LNG segment,” said Panama Canal Administrator, Ricaurte Vásquez Morales. “For more than a century, the Panama Canal has demonstrated its responsiveness to global trade changes, and what the world has experienced in the past year will not be the exception.”
The Panama Canal implemented recent adjustments in its processes to provide greater flexibility in its operations and respond more efficiently to the continuous changes in the demands of maritime trade, reflected in the current vessel mix that use the waterway.
In January, the Panama Canal announced modifications to the Transit Reservation Booking System.
Since the modifications, the Canal has conducted 25 auctions, of which nine have been awarded to LNG vessels. In addition, the Canal was able to transit three northbound LNG vessels in one day, on 25 January, and the transit of four LNG ships, two northbound and two southbound, in one day on 31 January. This has allowed the Canal to maximise the efficiency and flexibility of the transit service to better handle the current demand.
The increase of LNG transits through the Panama Canal is a result of record winter temperatures in Asia, which have caused LNG prices to rise to unprecedented levels.
