Substitution & swapping of booking slots

02 Oct 2017 / Panama Canal, Panama

Effective December 1, 2017, swapping and substitution of booking slots between container vessels of alliance members will be allowed, on a temporary basis, under the following conditions:

  • Both vessels must be of the same type and must below to the containership segment.
  • Both vessels must belong to the same vessel classification (Neopanamax, super or regular).
  • Both vessels must be transiting in the same direction.
  • For swaps, vessels must have similar transit restrictions, and for substitutions, the new vessel must have similar or lesser transit restrictions.
  • Both vessel operators must belong the services under the same alliance.
  • The booking date of the vessels involved in the swap or substitution must be within the effective date of the services and of the alliance.

If the request for substitution is received at least seven days in advance of the booked vessel’s required arrival, no cancellation fee will be assessed.

Vessels within the same alliance are permitted to swap their reserved transit slots up to five times per booking. The swapping fee to be applied will depend on the number of swaps that the vessels is involved in, as per the swapping fee table published in Notice to Shipping N-7-2017.

Vessel agents and shipping lines interested in participating in swaps and substitutions within alliance members, shall send documentation regarding the alliance agreement to [email protected]. The ACP may request additional information from shipping lines in order to verify their membership in the alliance. It is important that vessel agents register in the Maritime Service Portal the corresponding liner service for each vessel’s visit prior to submitting the request for the swap or substitution…

…For additional information please visit the following link: http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/customer-code-procedure-201307.pdf

(For information about operations in the Panama Canal contact GAC-Wilford & McKay at [email protected])

Source: Panama Canal Authority Advisory to Shipping No.A-36-2017 dated 29 September 2017

If quoting any content from Hot Port News, please cite GAC Hot Port News as the source.

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