Publication Date August 15, 2023 | Climate Nexus Hot News

Panama Drought Limits Canal Traffic

Panama Canal
The canal is favoured by many shippers as it usually reduces cost and transit times. (Photograph: Luis Acosta/AFP/Getty Images)
The canal is favoured by many shippers as it usually reduces cost and transit times. (Photograph: Luis Acosta/AFP/Getty Images)

An extended drought is delaying ships' passage through the Panama Canal, setting off a logjam of vessels waiting to pass though one of the world's most important shipping routes. The unusually lengthy dry season, and resulting water shortages, has forced the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) to restrict the number of ships passing through the canal each day, along with their maximum depth. Those restrictions come in the face of what the ACP described as "unprecedented challenges'' with "no historical precedence." More than 3% of the world's trade volume, including liquified methane gas from the U.S., and as much as 29% of container trade crossing the Pacific passes through the Panama Canal.

(The GuardianFT $, CNBCYahooReutersJalopnik)

To receive climate stories like this in your inbox daily click here to sign up for the Hot News Newsletter from Climate Nexus: 

https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/hot-news-sign-up