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Panama Canal

Volume 451: debated on Monday 6 November 2006

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the implications of the plans to modernise the Panama canal for United Kingdom trade; and what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the plans for UK trade with (a) Japan, (b) China, (c) India and (d) Australia. (97858)

The canal is currently operating at its full capacity and the expansion will enable the very large container ships, presently unable to transit the canal, to use the route from 2014, doubling the current capacity of 14,000 ships a year. This represents around 5 per cent. of all world shipping.

While no formal assessment has been made on the implications for UK trade including our trade with Japan, China, India and Australia, it is expected that the expansion will benefit UK and global shipping companies by improving access through this key route.