The Panama Canal broke one annual record and set two new single-day records, marking an important milestone that reflects the increasing global demand for its services. The waterway surpassed its annual mark of handling 300 million Panama Canal tonnes (a measurement unique to the authority) for the first time in canal history. It also broke the record for the transit of Panamax ships-the widest vessels capable of transiting the canal.
It set another record in total Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System (PC/UMS) tonnage transit in a single day. The canal also tied its record for the transit of super vessels, ships measuring 91 ft or more in beam.

The new transit record of 25 Panamax vessels set on September 19 broke the previous mark of 24 set in July 2003. Contributing to the new record were 10 bulk carriers, six container ships, three vehicle carriers, three tankers, two roll-on, roll-off vessels and one container/breakbulk ship. On that same day, a record 1,113,682 PC/UMS tonnes transited the waterway, breaking the record of 1,072,353 set on May 6, 2007. For the first time in canal history, the waterway on September 20 surpassed 300 million Panama Canal tonnes in a year, well above the 296.1 million tonnes reached in the previous year.

Source: www.hellenicshippingnews.com