Overview
- The Panama Canal Authority began limiting passages to 34 ships per day in early September with a planned cut to 32 daily slots on September 15 to conserve freshwater for lock operations.
- The authority reduced the maximum permitted vessel draft from about 15.24 meters to roughly 14.63 meters to lower the amount of lake water used by each transit.
- Canal officials say the measures respond to a roughly 34–36 percent rainfall deficit in the watershed tied to an intensifying El Niño that forecasters expect to persist into early 2027.
- Shippers are already reacting by paying record prices for guaranteed slots, adding surcharges, and rerouting some sailings via the Suez or around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid Panama delays.
- Longer term fixes include a proposed Indio River reservoir that would expand storage but is not expected to be ready before 2031, leaving trade exposed to further drought-driven cuts.