Panama Canal Authority's deck cooling measures for ships to take immediate effect

Overview

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) issues "deck cooling during transit" requirement effectively immediately for all crude tankers, product carriers and chemical tankers carrying cargoes with flashpoints of less then 18 degrees C.

To ensure safety of canal operations as well as reducing disruptions in transit scheduling, the ACP issued an Advisory (A-11-2019) calling for all crude oil tankers, product carriers, and chemical tankers carrying cargoes with flashpoints of less than 18o C , to cool their main decks with water by means of the on-deck water sprinkler system, or any other means available during transit. This will prevent automatic activation of their release relief valves during transit.

This shall be performed between 1000 and 1600 hours while the vessel is underway at Gatun Lake or Gaillard Cut, or at anchor in Canal waters. However, this procedure should be stopped while the vessel is transiting through the locks or is in the vicinity of the locks, and when Canal deckhands are on board.

This measure is effective from 3rd April.

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    ACP Advisory No A-11-2019 dated 3 April 2019 0.1 MB

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Ai Cheng Foo-Nielsen
in Copenhagen, DK

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