Overview
- The Panama Canal Authority announced on Thursday that daily transits will be reduced from 36 to 34 starting September 3 and then to 32 from September 15 to save water for lock use.
- The authority said an unusually strong El Niño has produced less rain than forecast, lowering levels in Gatún and Alhajuela lakes that supply the locks and reducing available freshwater for each ship transit.
- ACP officials have already limited vessel draft this year to save water and cited the 2023–24 El Niño precedent when transits fell as low as 22 per day and ships queued for weeks.
- The canal carries roughly 5% of global maritime trade and serves major users such as the United States and China, so any drop in capacity could ripple through shipping schedules and push up transit costs.
- Central American drought is worsening — for example Honduras placed about 80% of its territory on alert — and the ACP warned that further conservation steps or deeper transit cuts could follow if rainfall does not improve.