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interested parties may opt to correspond through a class soci- ety or directly with ACP. In either case, only the ACP can issue the o cial approval. Looking ahead The existing canal is receiving increased numbers of vessels for their first time transit. Before 2006, there were only about 600 rst-time transits per year, but since then that number has increased steadily every year. If this trend continues, rst-time transits will rise to 1,000 in 2011 and approximately 1,250 by 2014. By 2014, the accumulated 8-year total of these rst-time transit vessels would be 7,676, or 36.7% of the total 20,916 Panamax vessels built between 2006 and 2014. See gure 3. e expanded Panama Canal will not only spur new com- mercial routes and expand current ones. It also will enable many other vessels to reposition between trade routes. Hence, based on the projected trend of rst-time transits in the exist- ing canal, 1,053 Post-Panamax vessels (36.7% of the 2,871 Post-Panamax vessels built between 2006 and 2014) seem slated to take advantage of the economies of scale a orded them by their transit in the expanded Panama Canal when it starts operation in August 2014. Given the increased numbers of rst-time transits projected for the coming years, and the fact that the expanded canal will begin operations in three years, advance veri cation of com- pliance for Post-Panamax vessels is highly recommended. MTOctavio A. Stagg is the naval architect for the Transit Operations Division of the Panama Canal and has been a SNAME member since 1981. He is respon- sible for review of drawings to con? rm vessel compliance with technical requirements for canal transit. FIGURE LEARN MORE For more information and technical data on the Panama Canal expansion, go to: www.pancanal.com/eng/plan/documentos/propuesta/acp-expansion-proposal.pdf www.pancanal.com/eng/expansion/infoconf2007/presentations/new-locks.pdf And to download current OP Notices to Shipping from the Panama Canal Web page, go to www.pancanal.com/eng/maritime/notices/ Tug Changuinola assisting cut style on the stern of a Panamax vehicle carrier in Guillard Cut. July 2011www.sname.org/sname/mt