Panama Canal upgrades its scheduling systems

The Panama Canal is to launch a vessel scheduling and maritime resource-management system to optimise costs, improve safety and increase efficiency and reliability as the expanded waterway handles a growing number of ships.

Quintic’s system aims to transform how the Panama Canal plans and schedules transit operations, allowing the authority to execute a completely integrated operating plan for its tugboats, pilots and line handlers. It uses advanced modelling language to leverage path-optimisation algorithms and mathematical, constraint and graphical programming to optimise scheduling and use of resources.

The Panama Canal Authority says that by improving situational awareness and by having more accurate data, “the new system will allow for better decisionmaking, which will in turn help mitigate operational risk”.

Source: LNG World Shipping