In the coming years, the Panama Canal Authority may double the number of containers moving through the important East-West waterway. The canal's head told a maritime convention on Friday.

Chief Ricaurte Vazquez said at the Houston International Maritime Conference that a cargo-consolidation program will increase container volume by assigning containers to larger vessels. The authority has also granted shipping companies the opportunity to book future voyages through a new long-term slot auction.

He warned that U.S. import tariffs could cause "distortions" in trade, and that the canal plans to increase rail trans-shipments of cargo to give larger vessels more options for passage. Marianna Pararaga is reporting.

(source: Reuters)