Jose Ramon Arango, the Panama Canal Authority’s senior specialist for the executive vice-presidency for planning and business development, told TradeWinds that not all the Q-flex ships have been assessed as yet but that some would be able to make the transit if the authority decides to allow ships with a beam of up to 51 metres to pass through.

Speaking in Spain at this year’s Madrid LNG & Shipping Forum, he said, however, that experience would first need to be gained of handling LNG carriers of up to the stipulated 49-metre beam through the canal.

Currently,