As one of the most famous commercial trading routes in the world contends with a prolonged dry season, consumer goods may become inevitably delayed and more expensive.Â
The Panama Canal, responsible for moving 80% of global trade has been working on implementing practices to improve water efficiency by researching long-term solutions to changes in climate after experiencing a bout of drought between 2019 and 2020.Â
However, the current drought recurrence and severity has no historical precedence, officials announced earlier this month.Â
The water levels of the lakes the canal depends on are now “close to the minimum,” Vice President of Operations for the canal told CBS.Â
The Panama Canal Authority has restrictions in place for at least the next ten months on the number of vessels allowed to make their way across the canal as a direct result of low water levels at Gatún Lake, one of the three locks that make up the canal.Â
The restrictions, put into place earlier this year, have caused an accumulation of ships waiting to pass, Reuters reported. Ships have been forced to lighten their load or find alternate routes in light of the constraints.Â
The ACP opened two more passage slots per day for non-booked ships after a traffic jam comprised of 160 vessels was reported earlier in the month.
Instead of offering the standard 23 booking slots for Panamax lock entry, they will only offer 14 booking slots made up of 10 slots for super-sized vessels and 4 slots for regular-sized vessels, ACP announced Tuesday.Â
Ships traveling through Neopanamax locks will not be impacted by the measure change.Â
There are 64 booked and 68 non-booked vessels in the queue waiting to transit as of Friday night. The average wait time for unbooked expeditions this month is 9 to 11 days.Â
Shipping companies have expressed concern over the implication delays may have on global commerce if the drought continues. Especially, Danish company Maersk who is the largest single user of the canal, CBS
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