Draught restrictions on vessels the Panama Canal did not affect most shippers, but this resulted in long queues of waiting container ships through the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal Authority, Panama Canal Authority, reduced the total number of vessels that can book a crossing from 19 to 14, a reduction expected to last until August 21.
Before the vessel count dwindled, the authority in June lowered the new Panamax's maximum draft from 50 feet to 44 feet, and the drought has reduced the level of Gatung Lake, which provides fresh water for the canal's locks, to 79 feet or so, compared with the past five-year average of 85 feet, meaning vessels must be lighter than usual.
It is worth paying attention to importers in the coming autumn and winter to ship goods to the United States. This restriction means that fewer than 34 ships pass through the canal in both directions every day, while the maximum capacity of the canal is 34 to 42 ships, which makes the waiting time on both sides of the canal increase.
Port agency WaterFront Maritime Services said new Panamax vessels waited up to 18 days before going north through the canal, and southbound crossings had similar delays, which so far have not translated into late arrivals at U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.
Monaghan Joe Monaghan, chief executive of Worldwide Logistics Group, said the movement of heavy and dense cargoes such as construction, industrial materials and machine parts was already affected by the draft restrictions, with some maritime companies already reducing the maximum acceptable load for a 40ft container from the usual 20 to 22 tonnes to 15 tonnes. For the 20-foot containers typically used for overweight items, some operators reduced the maximum payload from the previous 15 tons to 7 tons.
Monaghan said his clients are mostly used to long transit times to the East Coast, so recent delays in the Panama Canal were not a factor in their decision. For other shippers, it is worth noting that if delays increase, it will put more pressure on freight rates and ship capacity, while also squeezing space transshipment from the West Coast to the Midwest and rail service.
freight forwarding network