US ports to boost Panama Canal trade


SEVEN major ports will sign agreements with the Panama Canal Authority over the next few weeks in a bid to increase trade.


The aim is to promote the All-Water Route between the US eastern seaboard and Asia, via the Panama Canal.

Memorandums of understanding (MOUs) are to be signed with port authorities in New York/New Jersey; Norfolk, Virginia; Savannah, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; New Orleans, Louisiana; Houston, Texas; and Miami, Florida.

The signings will be an "example of all parties' desire to work together to promote economic development," a spokesman for the Panama Canal Authority said.

More than 60 per cent of Panama Canal traffic originates from or travels to the US eastern seaboard, according to the authority, which is an autonomous entity of the government of Panama.

The US government says ships bound for Japan from the US East Coast save about 4,800 kilometers by going through the canal.