Panama City, March 10 (RHC-Xinhua) -- The Panama Canal set a new daily tonnage record of 1.18 million tons in February, with a total of 1,180 ships going through both the expanded and original locks, the waterway announced on Thursday.

"With this new daily tonnage record, February is the third consecutive record-breaking month for the Panama Canal," the Panama Canal Authority, the ACP, said in a statement.

"These records are evidence of the maritime industry's growing adoption of the expanded canal," the ACP's chief, Jorge Quijano said.

A new, wider shipping lane was inaugurated eight months ago to allow the Panama Canal, originally built in 1914, to handle today's larger Neopanamax cargo ships.

Since then, some 850 Neopanamax ships have crossed through the larger locks, accounting for 53 percent of all container ships transiting the waterway.

Trade isn't the only sector taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the canal. In April, the first Neopanamax cruise ship, capable of carrying up to 4,000 passengers, is scheduled to transit through the canal.