Panama City (AFP) – Panama Canal authorities announced increased traffic limits on Monday after reducing the number of vessels allowed to pass through in September due to droughts linked to the El Nino climate pattern. Panama has declared a nationwide emergency over the exceptionally strong El Nino, a warming phenomenon developing over the Pacific Ocean that is affecting worldwide weather patterns.
Recent rainfall has counteracted the effects of drought on the waterway, through which five percent of global maritime trade passes. The canal relies on water stored in two reservoirs to function, and low levels forced authorities to reduce the number of daily transits from 36 to 32 in September. But rainfall allowed them to raise the number to 33, which will rise again to 34 from Thursday.
Authorities are also returning the permitted draft of vessels — how deep they sit in the water — to a maximum depth of 15.24 meters, after also limiting this criterion. Even with restrictions in place, the Panama Canal saw record traffic during the last fiscal year, which ended on September 30, thanks in part to the war in the Middle East. From October 2025, 521 million tons of cargo passed through on nearly 14,000 ships, while revenues reached an unprecedented $6.6 billion.
© 2024 AFP
