The number of vessels waiting to cross the Panama Canal has reached 154, and slots for carriers to book passage are being reduced in an effort to manage congestion caused by ongoing drought conditions that have roiled the major shipping gateway since the spring. The current wait time to cross the canal is now around 21 days.
The massive pileup is a result of water conservation measures the Panama Canal Authority deployed in late July due to drought. The PCA has temporarily lowered the availability of booking slots from August 8-August 21 for Panamax vessels, which are the largest vessels that can cross the canal. These vessels can carry 4,500 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). The number of pre-booking slots was reduced to 14 daily from 23.
Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vásquez Morales has detailed the challenges they are facing due to the drought and after repeatedly lowering the draft limits, he announced the Panama Canal would maintain a draft of 44 feet in the coming months. He said this would be upheld “unless significant changes occur in weather conditions from the current projections.” To maintain the level the canal said it would only allow an average of 32 vessels per day to transit during this period, while suggesting the limits would remain in place into 2024.
Source: cnbc.com
