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Panama Canal to charter post-Panamax ship for new-locks training

Panama Canal to charter post-Panamax ship for new-locks training
The Panama Canal Authority said it will charter a post-Panamax vessel before the opening of the expanded Canal to be used for training purposes in the third set of locks.

The training will involve pilots and tugboat captains who will assist in transits through the new lane, according to Esteban Saenz, evp operations.

The vessel will be used several months before the opening of the expanded Canal to test the new locks.

'This is one of the best ways to train our pilots and tug captains in the joint effort required to transit through the two new lock complexes of the expanded Canal,' Saenz said. He added that since 2011, the Panama Canal has promoted workforce training for the operation of the expanded waterway.

And since 2012, a total of 186 of the approximately 280 Canal pilots have been trained at the Panama Canal's Center for Simulation, Research and Maritime Development using post-Panamax model vessels.

Some 77% of the pilots have participated in maneuvers with post-Panamax ships and more than 2,000 operations have been registered with these types of vessels at the ports located on both entrances of the waterway.

In addition, Canal pilots have participated in theoretical and practical training programs at Berendrecht Locks in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, which are of similar size and operation.