The Panama Canal Authority has restored the criteria it used before July 2026 to reallocate Neopanamax transit slots. The rules cover slots that are cancelled or freed during booking periods 1A and 2. They are set out in Advisory to Shipping No. A-40-2026, as reported by The Maritime Executive on 31 October, and took effect immediately1.
Under the restored order, freed slots go first to container ships, then to LNG carriers, then LPG carriers, then vehicle carriers and roll-on/roll-off ships1. Within each segment, Transit TEU Allowance (TTA) capacity is the main tiebreaker where it applies1. Bulk carriers and tankers do not appear on the priority list1.
The list covers only Neopanamax slots freed in those early booking periods. Under temporary booking rules the canal set in August, dry bulk carriers, vehicle carriers and RoRo vessels share a minimum of three Neopanamax slots per week, allocated by customer ranking2. Full container vessels get at least five slots per booking date, while LNG and LPG vessels get at least three each2. The canal offers 63 Neopanamax reservation slots a week in total, including long-term and NetZero allocations2.
Capacity has loosened from the drought peak
From 15 October the canal raised Neopanamax transits to 10 a day, for 33 daily slots across the Neopanamax and Panamax locks3. It also set the maximum Neopanamax draft at 14.94 metres (49.0 feet)3. On 21 October it reinstated last-minute reservations for Panamax lock users, offered at its discretion, after rainfall in the watershed came close to average levels4.
Traffic is growing. The canal handled 13,951 transits in its 2026 fiscal year, up 4.1% from 13,4044. Tonnage reached 521 million PC/UMS tons, up 6.5%, and revenue B/. 6.6 billion, up 16.6%4. Ships using the Neopanamax locks carried 52.2% of total tonnage4.
Even so, the authority says a confirmed reservation is the only way to guarantee a transit date3. Vessels without one may face indefinite delays3.
NetZero inspections can now be done abroad
The same advisory changed the NetZero eligibility rules for vessels transiting the waterway for the first time1. A preliminary tonnage inspection by the canal's Admeasurement Unit may now be carried out outside Panama1. Owners, operators or authorized agents may request one from 1 November 2026, before the vessel arrives1. The canal uses the inspection to calculate tolls, determine tonnage under the Panama Canal Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS), identify engine types and check other conditions for the programme1. It does not replace the final verification required before transit1.
NetZero is a separate weekly Neopanamax slot for low-emission ships, and it is not auctioned5. Winners get a choice of transit date within the week and a guaranteed 24-hour transit5. They also get Just-in-Time service at no extra cost and the right to swap in a similar vessel6, 5. Eligibility requires dual-fuel capability and a fuel with well-to-wake carbon intensity of 75 gCO2e/MJ or less5. The programme's rules required a completed initial admeasurement inspection, and stated that first-time transit vessels were not eligible5.
For a bulk carrier that loses a freed slot, the cost is time rather than a published fee. The canal does not guarantee a transit date without a reservation3.