regulation Compliance & regulationOperational risk Panama Canal Authority
ADVISORIES ARE AVAILABLE AT http://www.pancanal.com FOR ETAS OR DIRECT COMMUNICATION WITH OUR OFFICES, REFER TO NOTICE N-3-2023 Panama Canal Authorit Vice Presidency for Operations Advisory T o S hipping No. A-32-2023 July 4, 2023 TO: All Shipping Agents, Owners, and Operators SUBJECT: REMINDER - New Positioning System Requirement for Transiting Neopanamax Vessels Beginning October 2023 As published in Advisory A-32-2022 dated October 5, 2022, effective October 1, 2023, all vessels transiting the Panama Canal with beams 33.2 meters (109 feet) or more will be required to have a fixed (nonportable) piloting unit with real time kinematics (RTK) for submeter accuracy. Even though a portable piloting unit with real time kinematics (PPU-RTK) will be available for rental during a period of time, we encourage all customers to continue their procurement, configuration, and installation process of the fixed RTK antenna to comply with the above-mentioned requirement, which cost and time are significantly less than the possible transit delay and rental cost you may have without it. The above-mentioned requirement is mandatory, and the following procedure must be followed: a. Send an email to Arqueadores@pancanal.com when the installation and configuration of the fixed RTK fixed antenna has been completed. b. When a vessel with fixed RTK antenna installed announces its visit to the Panama Canal, include the following in the visit remark through the Panama Maritime Single Window (VUMPA for its Spanish acronym): NPU completed. c. A minimum of three connections shall be available in the RTK antenna network for Panama Canal usage, while the vessel is in Panama Canal waters. In addition, we recommend designating Wi-Fi channel 11 exclusively for the RTK antenna network. We are currently working with several suppliers, and they have informed us of the following: (a) there is equipment available; (b) the installation and configuration of the antenna takes less than a day. The list of evaluated and approved equipment, specifications, installation guide and the frequently asked questions are available through the following web link: https://pancanal.com/en/maritime-services/nonportable-piloting-unit/ For inquiries or additional information regarding this advisory, please contact us at: posicionamiento@pancanal.com ORIGINAL SIGNED Boris Moreno Vásquez Vice President for Operations 3654-A (OP-I) V. 29/03/2023
May 4, 2007
Panama Canal Authority
Read full article at Panama Canal Authority →
Opens Panama Canal Authority in a new tab