NeoPanamax: the size class of the 2016 expanded locks
The NeoPanamax size class set by the expanded Panama Canal locks, currently 370.33 m length overall, 51.25 m beam and 15.24 m tropical fresh water draft.
NeoPanamax is the ship size class defined by the expanded Panama Canal locks, which opened on 26 June 2016 and currently admit vessels to 370.33 m length overall, 51.25 m beam and 15.24 m tropical fresh water draft. The limits are not the 2016 opening figures: the Panama Canal Authority raised the beam from 49.00 m on 1 June 2018 and the length overall from 367.28 m in May 2021.
The full article will cover the two distinct NeoPanamax definitions the Authority maintains, one governing whether a ship physically fits and a separate toll assessment definition governing what it pays, along with the chamber dimensions of 427 m by 55 m by 18.3 m that are frequently misquoted as vessel limits. It will also treat the fleet response to the expansion, the Q-Flex LNG carriers admitted by the 2018 beam increase, and the container ships that remain excluded on beam.