The Number Of New Panamax Ships In Range Of The Panama Canal Has Surged -- July 28, 2016

First, some definitions:

Panamax are the mid-sized cargo ships that are capable of passing through the lock chambers of the Panama Canal which are 1,050 ft (320.04 m) in length, 110 ft (33.53 m) in width, and 41.2 ft (12.56 m) in depth. These limits have influenced the ship building companies to build Panamax vessels strictly in accordance with the dimensions (width, length and depth) of the lock chambers and the height of the Bridge of the Americas. A Panamax shouldn’t exceed the dimensional limit of 294,13 m (965 ft) in length, 32,31 m (106 ft) in width and 12,04 m (39.5 ft) draught wise in order to easily and safely fit to the lock chambers and the height of the Bridge of Americas at Balboa. Panamax ships are in operation since the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914.

In 2009, the Panama Canal Authority published the dimensions for New Panamax. The authority has initiated the construction of the third lane of locks having bigger dimension of 427 m (1400 ft) in length, 55m (180 ft) in width and 18.3 m (60 ft) in depth, in order to accommodate larger ships called New Panamax. The new locks are expected to be operational from 2014. With this the Panama Canal will be equipped to handle large-sized New Panamax vessels with a cargo capacity of up to 13,000 TEU.

Currently, Panamax vessels have a cargo capacity of up to 5,000 TEU only. The new bigger locks will also help in reducing the locking time and thus significantly reducing the traffic congestion and the travelling time for ships crossing the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean and vice versa. The completion of new locks in 2014 is expected to double the tonnage capacity of the Panama Canal.

Using filters one can see the large number of "new Panamax" tankers now in range of the Panama Canal. It appears there is currently one "new Panamax oil tanker" in the Canal.