Panama Canal to Cut Number of Ships Passing Through Due to El Niño
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Panama Canal’s Operator to Reduce Vessel Traffic Due to El Niño
Image source: Anadolu via Getty Images
By Peter Hoskins, Business reporter
Published 20 minutes ago
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has announced it will reduce the number of vessels passing through the canal from 15 September, due to low rainfall caused by El Niño.
Currently, 36 ships traverse the canal daily, but this will decrease to 32 ships per day. The ACP attributes this change to the need to preserve service reliability and safeguard water resources for human consumption, exacerbated by severe disruptions in global shipping already caused by the Iran war.
El Niño, a pattern of periodic sea surface warming, significantly impacts global weather systems. This year’s El Niño is anticipated to be particularly strong, further compounded by climate change.
The ACP implemented similar measures during the last El Niño period in 2023, reducing vessel traffic after Panama experienced its driest October since records began. Since then, water-saving measures have been introduced, but additional actions are necessary, according to the authority, to ensure long-term sustainability of transit operations.
These new measures will be phased in starting from 3 September.
The Panama Canal significantly reduces travel time and distance for ships traversing between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Approximately 14,000 ships use the artificial waterway annually, operating 24/7. Besides facilitating global trade, it contributes roughly $3 billion (£2.2 billion) annually to Panama’s economy.
