The Panama Canal is implementing a new reduction in ship transit

Deficit of fresh water due to drought and phenomena Boy they keep hitting Panama Canalwhich, as of this Wednesday, reduces the daily transit of ships to 31, one ship less than the previous measure, which comes after the driest October since records were kept.

The administration of that waterway announced at the end of September that from November 1, “the average number of passage through the Canal will be adjusted to 31 ships per day: nine through the Neopanamax lock and 22 through the Panamax lock”, therefore which recommended that clients make reservations in order to “ensure your transit”.

This is the second daily vessel transit restriction measure in effect this year through the Panama Canal, after in July the number of vessels crossing the interoceanic waterway was reduced to 32 per day, with an average of between 35 and 36 vessels under optimal conditions.

According to the Panama Canal, there are records that show less rain has fallen in Panama for two decades, including Channel hydrographic basinwhich supplies half of the population with water, an “unprecedented” deficit.

“The month of October is the driest since records began 73 years ago. The drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon continues to seriously affect the Panama Canal reservoir system and, as a consequence, the availability of water is reduced,” the Canal reported this week.

IN October saw 41% less rain than usual, so that, “with approximately 50 days left until the end of the rainy season, the Canal and the country face the challenge that the next dry season will present with a minimum water reserve that must guarantee the supply of more than 50% of the population and, at the same time, maintain the operation of the interoceanic waterway” , he warned.

What other measures did the channel apply?

The scarce rains this year in Panama, a country that has only two seasons, dry and rainy, together with the El Niño phenomenon, “noticeably” reduced the levels of fresh water in the Canal reserves, which already in September announced as compensation a reduction of about 50% of variable rates charged for the use of fresh water.

This adjustment to the fresh water charge, known as “CAD”, effective from October 1, represents a reduction on average for neopanamax ships, those crossing the expansion inaugurated in June 2016. $19,700 per transit.

While for the Panamax ship, which is smaller than the first and which passes through the locks that have been in operation since 1914, according to official information, it will be 6,800 dollars per transit.

In addition, the canal authority reduced the draft (submerged part of the ship) by 44 feet (about 13 meters) from the maximum 50 (about 15 meters) offered by the route.

What are the consequences?

The restrictions are expected to remain in place through the 2024 fiscal year, which began Oct. 1 and will end Sept. 30 of that year, with an estimated revenue impact of $200, according to the road manager. Ricaurte Vasquez.

The transit restriction caused a traffic jam in the canal this year, up to 163 vessels in the queue, especially those without a planned crossing on the road, which records about 120 vessels waiting in the season, and 72 in the off-season. Now there are about a hundred.

The Panama Canal connects 180 sea routes that reach 1,920 ports 170 countries, and about 3% of world trade passes through it. In fiscal year 2022, the Canal delivered a historic annual amount of $2,494.4 million to the Panamanian government.