Ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans may soon face longer delays and stricter limits at the Panama Canal. A worsening drought caused by the El Niño weather pattern is drying up the lakes that supply water to the canal's system. Because of the water shortage, officials warned that they may have to cut the number of vessels allowed through each day.
The Panama Canal handles about 5 percent of global maritime trade. To conserve water, authorities have already reduced the maximum daily number of ships from 36 down to 34. On September 15, the limit will drop again to 32 ships per day. Ilya Espino de Marotta, the new administrator of the Panama Canal Authority, said that if heavy rain does not fall during September, October, and November, daily limits could fall to 29 early next year. Authorities have also reduced the maximum draft—the depth of water a ship needs to float safely—forcing vessels to carry less cargo.
The canal relies on freshwater from the artificial Gatun and Alajuela reservoirs to fill its giant locks, which raise and lower vessels. Each ship transit consumes about 200 million liters (53 million gallons) of water. The current restrictions come at a difficult time for global shipping, as conflict in the Middle East has already reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. With fewer available slots in Panama, some shipping companies have paid over 1 million dollars at auction to secure transit.
To solve the problem in the long term, Panama plans to build a new reservoir at the Rio Indio river. The project will take five to six years to complete and is intended to supply water for both canal operations and more than half of the country's population. Until the new reservoir is ready, however, the canal remains vulnerable to prolonged dry weather.