The increased width and depth of the new locks will allow the transit of larger tanker classes, such as suezmax dirty tankers and long-range-two (LR2) clean products tankers. Last year’s lifting of the US crude-oil export ban and the growth of US Gulf Coast refinery production would seem to suggest the potential for more transpacific trading in oil products.
But experts say the lack of arbitrage opportunities and logistical constraints are likely to keep crude and refined products tankers from heavily using the canal’s new locks.
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