Agence France-Presse recently quoted news from the Panama Canal Authority and reported that due to insufficient precipitation, the water levels of Lake Gatong and Lake Alajuela, which supply water for the canal, have dropped severely. Among them, the water level of Lake Alajuela dropped by about 7 meters from March 21 to April 21, a drop of more than 10%.

affected by this, the Panama Canal Authority lowered the maximum draft depth of large ships from 15.24 meters to 14.48 meters in mid-April. This usually means that large ships must carry less to get through.

The Canal Authority water resources manager said that the lack of precipitation "will have an impact on multiple aspects. The first is that our water reserves are reduced, which will affect the canal business because large ships cannot pass, and such ships pay the highest toll."

The Panama Canal is an important waterway for global trade. According to statistics, in fiscal year 2022, more than 14000 ships carried 0.518 billion tons of cargo through the Panama Canal, contributing 2.5 billion billion US dollars.

Familiar with the canal authority of the insider said, water shortage has become the main threat to canal shipping, "if no new reservoir to bring new water, this situation will limit the canal development", leading some shipping companies to choose another route.

The head of the Panama Meteorological and Hydrological Research Institute said that not only the Panama Canal, but the entire territory of Panama is currently experiencing "insufficient rainfall, but the degree is still within the normal dry season range", and the expected El Niño phenomenon may cause rainfall in the second half of this year to decrease.

Source: Shipping Industry