Il canale di Panama ha concluso l'anno fiscale 2003 con un lieve calo dei transiti

Nell'anno fiscale 2003, conclusosi lo scorso 30 settembre, l'Autoridad del Canal de Panamà (ACP) ha registrato ricavi per 921 milioni di dollari, con un incremento del 15% rispetto ai 799,8 milioni di dollari totalizzati nell'anno fiscale precedente.

Nell'anno conclusosi lo scorso 30 settembre il traffico merci nel canale è ammontato a 242,5 milioni di tonnellate PC/UMS (Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System), con una crescita del 3% rispetto a 234,9 milioni di tonnellate PC/UMS nell'anno fiscale 2002. Complessivamente sono stati registrati 11.720 transiti di navi attraverso il canale (-1,1%). Da segnalare il costante e rilevante aumento dei transiti di navi full container, ammontati a 2.369 unità (+17,7%).

Nell'anno fiscale 2003 il tempo medio di transito delle navi nel canale panamense (Canal Waters Time - CWT) si è attestato poco al di sotto delle 23 ore. Sono stati 12 gli incidenti verificatisi nel canale, con una diminuzione del 29,4% rispetto ai 17 incidenti di navigazione occorsi nell'anno fiscale 2002.

Panama canal traffic -- Fiscal Years 2001 through and 2003

	Total Traffic			Traffic Assessed Tolls on Net Tonnage Basis		Traffic Assessed Tolls on Displacement Tonnage Basis
Fiscal Year	Number of Transits	Tolls	Long Tons of Cargo	Number of Transits	Panama Canal/UMS Net Tonnage*	Number of Transits	Displacement Tonnage

OCEANGOING COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC ⁽¹⁾
2001	12,186	578,349,883	193,142,176	12,091	230,732,496	95	520,037
2002	11,851	587,567,413	187,814,958	11,790	234,465,244	61	329,392
2003	11,720	664,667,093	188,272,954	11,634	241,995,646	86	361,799
FREE OCEANGOING TRAFFIC ⁽²⁾
2001	12	-	-	1	583	11	21,112
2002	9	-	-	-	-	9	18,992
2003	5	-	-	-	-	5	10,485
TOTAL OCEANGOING TRAFFIC ⁽³⁾
2001	12,198	578,349,883	193,142,176	12,092	230,733,079	106	541,149
2002	11,860	587,567,413	187,814,958	11,790	234,465,244	70	348,384
2003	11,725	664,667,093	188,272,954	11,634	241,995,646	91	372,284
SMALL COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC ⁽¹⁾
2001	1,263	1,154,500	10,763	1,217	428,390	46	37,033
2002	1,316	1,204,500	8,770	1,266	447,717	50	38,614
2003	1,420	1,310,500	6,790	1,366	489,153	54	37,388
SMALL FREE TRAFFIC ⁽²⁾
2001	31	-	1	11	3,785	20	14,325
2002	7	-	-	3	1,749	4	3,843
2003	9	-	-	4	2,013	5	4,193
TOTAL SMALL TRAFFIC ⁽⁴⁾
2001	1,294	1,154,500	10,764	1,228	432,175	66	51,358
2002	1,323	1,204,500	8,770	1,269	449,466	54	42,457
2003	1,429	1,310,500	6,790	1,370	491,166	59	41,581
TOTAL PANAMA CANAL TRAFFIC
2001	13,492	579,504,383	193,152,940	13,320	231,165,254	172	592,507
2002	13,183	588,771,913	187,823,728	13,059	234,914,710	124	390,841
2003	13,154	665,977,593	188,279,744	13,004	242,486,812	150	413,865

*	The tonnage measurement system for Panama Canal tolls assessment, the Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS).
⁽¹⁾	As of January 1, 2000, vessels categorized as commercial include those previously categorized as U.S. Government vessels.
⁽²⁾	Free traffic includes ships of the Colombian and Panamanian Governments and ships transiting for repairs by the Panama Canal Authority.
⁽³⁾	Oceangoing vessels are those paying tolls greater than the minimum tariffs implemented on June 1, 1998.
⁽⁴⁾	Vessels assessed minimum toll amounts as established by criteria implemented on June 1, 1998.
(Source: Department of Corporate Planning and Marketing - PMXR, ACP)

Panama Canal Traffic by Type of Vessel ⁽¹⁾
Fiscal Years 2001 through 2003

Type of Vessel	2003	2002	2001

*CARGO AND CARGO/PASSENGER SHIPS:*
Bulk Carriers:
Dry Bulk Carriers:
Number of transits:	2,320	2,630	2,769
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	48,941	55,125	56,927
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$136,570	$140,321	$144,881
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	79,861	86,906	90,632
Woodships [2]:
Number of transits:	27	46	119
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	948	1,579	4,299
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$2,536	$3,764	$10,074
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	858	1,174	2,749
Dry/Liquid Bulk Carriers:
Number of transits:	29	72	44
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	805	2,260	1,206
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$2,203	$5,372	$3,015
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	1,069	2,191	1,599
Vehicle Carriers:
Number of transits:	816	773	738
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	37,014	34,853	32,796
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$96,706	$84,158	$79,497
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	2,472	2,349	2,191
Vehicle/Dry Bulk Carriers:
Number of transits:	6	8	34
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	194	185	806
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$526	$475	$2,042
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	32	134	807
Container Cargo Ships:
Container/Breakbulk Ships:
Number of transits:	576	433	407
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	11,272	7,817	6,946
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$31,623	$19,948	$17,773
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	12,806	8,024	7,777
Roll-on, Roll-off Ships:
Number of transits:	130	137	178
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	4,182	3,767	4,644
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$11,558	$9,608	$11,808
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	1,117	1,363	1,660
Full Container Ships:
Number of transits:	2,369	2,012	1,780
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	78,650	64,396	55,400
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$220,547	$165,311	$142,294
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	48,247	39,934	35,071
General Cargo Ships:
Number of transits:	827	985	1,110
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	7,252	8,324	8,549
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$20,213	$21,098	$21,630
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	6,598	7,130	7,423
Passenger Ships [3]:
Number of transits:	203	206	235
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	7,624	7,331	8,317
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$21,029	$18,814	$21,364
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	-	-	-
Refrigerated Cargo Ships:
Refrigerated Cargo Vessels:
Number of transits:	2,207	2,135	2,076
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	17,278	16,489	15,720
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$46,001	$39,895	$37,929
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	5,545	5,250	4,983
Fishing Vessels:
Number of transits:	268	301	327
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	325	340	392
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$896	$853	$981
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	118	126	130
Tank Ships:
Tankers:
Number of transits:	1,332	1,611	1,838
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	22,304	27,285	30,513
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$60,090	$66,332	$74,253
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	26,633	30,719	35,876
Liquid-Gas Carriers:
Number of transits:	249	191	215
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	3,403	3,174	2,762
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$8,688	$7,324	$6,483
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	1,645	1,514	1,461

*OTHER TYPE SHIPS:*
Naval Vessels:
Number of transits:	78	59	93
Displacement tonnage (thousands')	317	298	470
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$485	$399	$643
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	-	-	-
Barges, Dredges, Drydocks, Tugs, etc.
Number of transits:	288	261	235
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	1,804	1,540	1,457
Displacement tonnage (thousands')	56	50	71
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$4,996	$3,896	$3,682
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	1,274	1,000	784

*SUMMARY:*
Total Cargo and Cargo/Passenger Ships:
Number of transits:	11,359	11,540	11,870
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	240,192	232,926	229,277
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$659,186	$583,272	$574,025
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	186,999	186,815	192,359
Total Other Type Ships:
Number of transits:	366	320	328
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	1,804	1,540	1,457
Displacement tonnage (thousands')	372	348	541
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$5,481	$4,296	$4,325
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	1,274	1,000	784
Grand Total Ships:
Number of transits:	11,725	11,860	12,198
PC/UMS net tonnage (thousands')*	241,996	234,465	230,733
Displacement tonnage (thousands')	372	348	541
Tolls (thousands of dollars')	$664,667	$587,567	$578,350
Cargo (thousands of long tons')	188,273	187,815	193,142

*	The tonnage measurement system for Panama Canal tolls assessment, the Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS).
'	Data given in thousands is subject to rounding differences.
⁽¹⁾	Includes only large vessels paying tolls greater than the minimum tariff implemented on June 1, 1998.
⁽²⁾	Until July 1, 2000, woodships were classified as Dry Bulk Carriers.
⁽³⁾	Vessels certified for more than 12 passengers.
(Source: Department of Corporate Planning and Marketing - PMXR, ACP)

Panama Canal Traffic by Market Segment ^1/Fiscal Years 2002 through 2003

	Number of Transits		Tolls		Panama Canal/UMS Net Tonnage*		Cargo (long tons)		Porcentaje de Incremento o Decremento
Market Segment	2003	2002	2003	2002	2003	2002	2003	2002	Transits	Tolls	CP/SUAB	Cargo
			(thousands)		(thousands)		(thousands)
Container	2,369	2,012	220,547	165,311	78,650	64,396	48,247	39,934	17.7%	33.4%	22.1%	20.8%
Dry Bulk	2,347	2,676	139,106	144,085	49,889	56,704	80,719	88,080	(12.3%)	(3.5%)	(12.0%)	(8.4%)
Refrigerated Cargo	2,207	2,135	46,001	39,895	17,278	16,489	5,545	5,250	3.4%	15.3%	4.8%	5.6%
Tankers	1,581	1,802	68,778	73,656	25,707	30,459	28,278	32,233	(12.3%)	(6.6%)	(15.6%)	(12.3%)
General Cargo	827	985	20,213	21,098	7,252	8,324	6,598	7,130	(16.0%)	(4.2%)	(12.9%)	(7.5%)
Vehicle Carriers	816	773	96,706	84,158	37,014	34,853	2,472	2,349	5.6%	14.9%	6.2%	5.3%
Passengers	203	206	21,029	18,814	7,624	7,331	-	-	(1.5%)	11.8%	4.0%	-
Others	1,375	1,271	52,287	40,550	18,582	15,908	16,415	12,838	8.2%	28.9%	16.8%	27.9%
Total	11,725	11,860	664,667	587,567	241,996	234,465	188,273	187,815	(1.1%)	13.1%	3.2%	0.2%

*	The tonnage measurement system for Panama Canal tolls assessment, the Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS).
1/	Only includes large vessels
(Source: Department of Corporate Planning and Marketing - PMXR, ACP)