AUTORIDAD DEL CANAL DE PANAMÁ 3654 (OPXI) OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT v. 3-2-2011 ADVISORIES ARE AVAILABLE AT http://www.pancanal.com FOR ETAS OR DIRECT COMMUNICATION WITH OUR OFFICES, REFER TO NOTICE N-3-2012 ADVISORY TO SHIPPING No. A-26-2012 October 3, 2012 TO : All Shipping Agents, Owners, and Operators SUBJECT: Monthly Canal Operations Summary – September 2012 1. Panama Canal Statistical Summary: a. Transit Pilot Force ................................................................................................. 298 b. Pilots in Training ................................................................................................. 1 c. Tugs ................................................................................................. 32 d. Locomotives .................................................................................................. 100 2. Traffic Statistics: Daily Average High Low Arrivals 33.43 44 20 Oceangoing Transits 34.27 41 24 Canal Waters Time (hours) 22.03 31.03 16.84 In-Transit Time (hours) 10.63 11.78 8.68 Oceangoing Transits: Total Daily Average Percentage Vessels of less than 91' beam 322 10.73 31.32 Vessels 91 ́ beam and over 706 23.53 68.68 Total: 1028 34.27 100 Vessels 100' beam and over 620 20.67 60.31 Vessels 900' length and over 136 4.53 13.23 Booking Slots: Available Used Percentage Large Vessels (beam 91' and over) 510* 290* 1 56.86 Regular Vessels (beam less than 91') 240 * 80* 1 33.33 Regular Vessels (up to 300' in length) 0 0 0 Auctioned booking slots 0 0 0 *Does not include additional auctioned booking slots ¹ Includes booked transits only 3. The following page provides the scheduled locks maintenance work and other items of interest to the shipping community. 4. This advisory will be canceled for record purposes on October 31, 2012. ORIGINAL SIGNED _______________________________ Abdiel Pérez B. Acting Executive Vice-President of Operations AUTORIDAD DEL CANAL DE PANAMÁ 3654 (OPXI) OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT v. 28-01-2011 OP, October 3, 2012 Subject: Monthly Canal Operations Summary – SEPTEMBER 2012 1 The normal transit capacity of the Panama Canal is 38-40 vessels per day, depending on vessel mix and other factors. This capacity is reduced during locks maintenance work, as indicated in the above table. Consequently, vessels may experience delays in transiting. Normally, during these periods, the Panama Canal Transit Reservation System slots are fully utilized. Whenever a set of locks requires a major outage of one of its two lanes for dry chamber inspection, miter gate repairs, tow track work or other major maintenance/improvement projects, advantage may be taken of this requirement to perform simultaneous single lane outages for additional maintenance at other locks. CANAL EXPANSION FIVE-YEAR UPDATE Five years ago, the Panama Canal Expansion broke ground at Paraiso Hill, and as of August 31, 2012, the program ́s advancement was estimated at 44.5 percent. "The Panama Canal Expansion Program is moving forward at a good pace. The program has made positive contributions to Panama ́s economy such as direct employment, investments, knowledge and technological transfer,” said Panama Canal Administrator/CEO Jorge L. Quijano. To date, three of the four dry excavation projects have been completed and the 4th project has reached 67 percent through August 31st. The dredging of the Pacific and Atlantic Entrances and of Gatun Lake are advancing as scheduled with progress reaching 92 percent, 98 percent,