Never since the 1950s has there been so little rain: fewer ship passages on the Panama Canal. At least twelve deaths from adulterated alcohol in Indonesia

Given the low water levels in the Panama Canal, ship traffic through the important waterway must be further reduced. By February next year, the number of ship passages to be booked will be gradually reduced from 30 to 18 per day, the canal administration announced on Tuesday (local time). Since 1950, there has never been so little rain in October as this year. Little rain is expected until the end of the year.

“Despite all measures taken, the level of Gatun Lake has continued to decline to levels never before seen for this time of year,” the Panama Canal Authority said. It is not only the number of ship passages that has decreased in recent months. The maximum draft at which ships were allowed to sail through the canal had also been reduced.

As the U.S. Department of Energy writes, delays at the Panama Canal are currently pushing shipping rates for large gas tankers through the Panama Canal to record highs. This in turn drives up the cost of transporting liquefied natural gas from the United States.

The approximately 80 kilometer long canal connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean in Central America. In normal times, around 14,000 ships pass through the waterway every year. About six percent of world trade is carried out this way. In recent months, less rain and higher temperatures have caused water levels in the Panama Canal’s artificial Gatun Lake to drop, impacting operations.

The Panama Canal starts in Colón in the north of Panama and ends at Panama City in the south. After the opening of the expanded canal in 2016, the waterway features three lock systems that raise and later lower ships to the level of Gatún Lake, which is 28 meters above sea level. Since the expansion of the canal, large tankers and cargo ships with up to 14,000 containers can also be transported across the waterway. (lacquer/sda/dpa)