It has been more than a year since severe drought conditions led to restrictions on the number of daily vessels that could pass through the Panama Canal, but it looks as though the waterway will be finally returning to near normal conditions next month.
The drought led to extremely low water levels in the two artificial lakes that flow through the canal’s tiered lock system since April last year. This severely impacted operations and resulted in delays and congestion at the two entrances to the canal.
Several carriers routed schedules away from the canal, and some even moved to a cross-country rail freight service. At the height of the crisis shipowners were entering auctions, where the highest bidders would jump to the front of the queue, costing up to $1 million.
However, the Panama Canal Authority (PCA) have now announced that from 22nd July the maximum number of daily vessel transits will be rising to 34, which is at the lower range of the canal’s average 34-38 vessel passages in normal conditions.
The rise in transits is significantly higher than the limit of just 20 vessels, which was the lowest restriction introduced during the year long drought period.
The Panama Canal is the only crossing point for container ships between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and since it is considered critical for global trade the news has been well received by the shipping industry.
