By: Staff Writer
October 17, 2023
The administrator of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) said that they are giving ships wishing to pass through the zone 21 days of lead time and encourages them to carry smaller payloads or not travel through the zone at all.
Ricaurte Vasquez Morales said on a podcast that due to the ongoing drought in the Panama Canal, some ships have opted to go around the Cape of South America to avoid being trapped or held up. “We make our advisories 21 days in advance. And usually the farthest away port of origin is about 28 days of sailing away. So we make the announcement with enough lead time in order to make sure that they can make a rational decision on which way to go. And that’s when we believe that we are by providing the information allowing our customers to make the best decision possible, given the circumstances.”
This “new reality” is not unique to the Panama Canal and happens in Europe and in the US with ships having to be diverted or scheduling for passage more than 14 days in advance. “Climate change is essentially the reason why all this has happened. And that is a slow process that has peaked this year, and to call our attention on the things that we have to do in order to modify our consumption patterns and everything else transportation and the like, so we can probably reduce the adverse impact of climate change than it’s having in the economy as a whole,” he said.
The ACP had to reduce the number of transits from 32 to 31 in order to “save water” due to this lengthy and “abnormal” dry season. They plan to have their navigational lake at a certain level by late November when the official dry season begins in Panama and then wait for next year April for the rainy season.
The ACP is also encouraging ships to travel through the Canal with smaller payloads because of the smaller drafts, but if ships cannot travel with smaller payloads then they may not be able to travel through at all.
The normal draft level is 50ft, although from March 2022 it was reduced to 49.5ft and earlier in 2023 the maximum draft level was reduced again to 47.5ft.
Mr Morales also said: “What we are looking at is that for the Panama Canal 70 percent of the vessels can operate the 44 feet of draft and we are addressing that and for vessels that need larger draft, then there is the option especially with containers, of using the surface system.
“That being said, essentially, Panama remains as the service provider for these cargoes and not only at the Panama Canal, but at the ancillary services that are surrounding the Panama Canal.”
While there are options to bypass the Panama Canal during this season of drought, from land-bridges to other shipping routes, the Panama Canal still the best route from the Gulf of Mexico to Asia and for many products coming from Asia and Eastern Europe to and from the US and Western Europe.