Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here鈥檚 the latest.
Space shuttle fuel tank, the last of its kind, travels through the Panama Canal
It鈥檚 not everyday that you get to see a piece of a space shuttle go through the Panama Canal, but this past week, it happened. Check out this awesome video from the LA times, of the fuel tank from one of the US space shuttles as it is being transported to California.
ET-94, the last flight-qualified space shuttle tank in existance, travels through the Panama Canal, on its way to Los Angeles and its final home at the California Science Center. It left New Orleans on April 12 and hopes to land in Southern California mid-May.
Holding out for a hub: Emirates pines for Panama
Despite a number of bureaucratic setbacks that have pushed back Emirates鈥 non-stop Dubai-Panama flight by about a year, the company (and Panamanian government) still see a path forward to making this phenomenally long flight work.
鈥淲e do not consider an alternative to Panama. We are still working on 鈥 this code-share agreement,鈥 Thierry Antinori, Emirates executive vice president and chief commercial officer, told reporters after a press conference in Dubai on Sunday.
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Panama President Juan Carlos Varela visits Singapore for a day
Last week, Panama鈥檚 President Juan Carlos Varela made an important trade stop in Singapore. Though brief, he had a chance to catch up with that country鈥檚 president to discuss trade, and bolster business relationships between the two nations.
Mr Varela called on his counterpart President Tony Tan Keng Yam, and had a meeting with Acting Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean. They discussed regional and international developments, opportunities for economic collaboration and more bilateral cooperation in training and education.
Dr Tan also said Singapore and Panama established diplomatic relations in 1982 and have developed a warm relationship over the last 33 years, built on mutual interests and a shared outlook of the world. He said: 鈥淪ingapore and Panama are both small countries with populations under 6 million. We depend heavily on trade for our livelihoods. As small and outward-looking economies, we have been active in our support for multilateral cooperation, free trade, and navigational freedom.
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Panama Canal expansion to simplify US exports
With the Panama Canal expansion nearing its completion date, it looks like things are going to get a lot simpler for US exports. Here鈥檚 how.
聽Inaugurated聽on 26 June聽propane聽exports to markets in Asia simpler, cheaper and more transparent, the US Department of Energy鈥檚 Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report on Wednesday.
Only a limited number of very large聽gas聽carriers (VLGCs) with narrower, more upright hull designs now are able to pass through the current Panama Canal lock dimensions. Therefore, much of US Gulf Coast propane exports through the canal to customers in Asia involve ship-to-ship transfers, with propane cargo being moved to smaller ships that can transit the canal.
With the expansion, the聽larger set of Panama Canal locks will聽allow VLGCs to pass through and avoid ship-to-ship transfers, the EIA said. At the same time, the trade data for US propane exports to Asia will become much more transparent and accurate.
