Port to Port Transshipment

The Panama Canal Railway’s ultimate objective is to effectively convert Panama into a dual-ocean transshipment and distribution hub with fluid connectivity between the Atlantic and Pacific ports. Panama is the only place in the world where it is possible to transship containers in-bond from the Atlantic to the Pacific in under four hours.

In-bond transshipment by rail will be most attractive to carriers calling on both coasts. Another possibility is to carry containers from mainline vessels calling on the Atlantic coast and connect with feeder ships in Balboa.

It is important to note that Panama’s dual-ocean transshipment concept represents a new transportation product providing ocean carriers and shippers with new opportunities and options to expand connecting services, improve asset utilization, increase vessel routing and re-deployment possibilities as well as alleviate Canal restrictions related to draft, line of sight or vessel size. In the future, the PCRC land bridge transshipment dimension may help attract post Panamax vessels to Panama’s ports and will likely offer a valuable routing alternative during times of USA port or rail delays.

In essence, PCRC does not intend to substitute or compete with the Canal, but instead complement it. PCRC will enable existing ocean carriers using the Panama Canal to maximize their vessel operations.

The PCRC will effectively add a critical new dimension to Atlantic and Pacific transshipment – the ability to safely and efficiently move large volumes of boxes in-bond between the Atlantic and Pacific to link up with connecting opposite ocean services.