Panama Canal: Further capacity reductions not ruled out The Panama Canal Authority has warned that daily transit services could be cut further if the drought persists. Panama Canal Authority chief Ricaurte Vásquez Morales invited media to a meeti

Panama Canal: Further capacity reductions not ruled out

The Panama Canal Authority has warned that daily transit services could be cut further if the drought persists.

Panama Canal Authority chief Ricaurte Vásquez Morales invited media to a meeting this week, where he laid out his vision for the canal's traffic situation in the short term and outlined his hopes for a long-term solution to ensure fresh water shortages remain in place. The future is no longer a threat.
Faced with this year's unprecedented drought and the arrival of the El Niño weather phenomenon, the canal authorities have reduced daily traffic by 20% to 32 times a day, while also reducing the maximum draft of the larger New Panamax locks in the channel. Nearly 2 meters. These measures resulted in massive queues of ships at both ends of the waterway.

"This phenomenon has been very severe this year, which is to be expected because it is very unusual when there are high temperatures in the Pacific and Atlantic at the same time, and this will become a common situation and will probably continue into next year. Morales warned that if the situation does not improve, there is a possibility of reducing flights again.

Faced with this year's unprecedented drought and the arrival of the El Niño weather phenomenon, the canal authorities have reduced daily traffic by 20% to 32 times a day, while also reducing the maximum draft of the larger New Panamax locks in the channel. Nearly 2 meters. These measures resulted in massive queues of ships at both ends of the waterway.

"This phenomenon has been very severe this year, which is to be expected because it is very unusual when there are high temperatures in the Pacific and Atlantic at the same time, and this will become a common situation and will probably continue into next year. Morales warned that if the situation does not improve, there is a possibility of reducing flights again.
Morales stressed: "Due to El Niño, dry conditions will last for a longer period of time." This week, canal managers decided to ban two ship slots in the Panamax lock from auction and award them to the ship that has waited the longest to transit.

Looking ahead, Morales talked about how he will work with members of Congress to amend a 2006 law so that the canal can build a new reservoir, called Rio Indio, to maintain critical high water levels in Gatun Lake and provide continued Providing drinking water to the growing Panamanian population.

An average of about 90 ships have had to wait at either end to pass through the canal over the past seven years. This number has surged in recent weeks, reaching a peak of 163 ships on August 9. There are still 132 ships waiting for navigation.