PANAMA CITY, March 20 (Reuters) - The Panama Canal is operating at top capacity with a daily passage of between 36 and 38 vessels, the waterway's chief Ricaurte Vasquez told reporters on Friday, adding that the Iran war is boosting demand by owners and operators of liquefied natural gas tankers, particularly those loading at U.S. ports.

The world's second busiest waterway, which was already seeing increased traffic of LNG vessels through Panama before the war, is getting ready to offer one slot per day for LNG tankers to pass the canal, from four per month in previous months.

(Reporting by Elida Moreno, Editing by Marianna Parraga)