The Panama Canal may further cut the number of ships passing daily despite the prolonged drought

The reduction in the number of ships passing each day is causing congestion in the waterway since only 32 ships can pass each day, down from 36 ships under normal conditions and draft. maximum is 13.4 meters.

“If we have to consider reducing the number of ships passing through, we will do so,” said Mr. Ricaurte Vasquez, Director of ACP. This will continue with a draft of 13.4 metres. We will not reduce the draft. If we did, it would impact 70% of our customers. We will manage water levels and are looking for long-term solutions."

According to ACP, 116 ships are waiting to cross the canal on Tuesday, September 12; 66 of those ships had no reservations. The average waiting time for a ship is about 5.8 days.

To ease congestion, the canal recently changed its reservation system to allow more ships without reservations to pass through and reduce the time ships have to wait.

The situation has forced ACP to reconsider its plans for the fiscal year (October 2023 to September 2024), which could be expected to drop to 30-31 ships passing through per day, Vasquez said.

“This year's El Niño weather phenomenon is very severe... We predict that in the coming months, if there is no significant rain, we will have to have a preparedness plan,” Mr. Vasquez said.

The water level at Gatun Lake, which supplies water to the waterway, was at 24.2 meters last week, down from 26.6 meters in September in recent years.

Since 2020, the Canal has been implementing the Water Programme, an initiative that includes identifying and implementing a series of projects to ensure water supply for people's consumption needs and ensure of the waterway in the next 50 years.

The Panama Canal Authority and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have confirmed that the technical solutions under the Panama Canal's jurisdiction are insufficient to meet the growing demand for water use. for people's consumption and for transit ships. However, there are external solutions, outside the Panama Canal basin, that have been studied as long-term solutions.

Mr. Vasquez said that by May 2024, USACE, the consulting unit for ACP, must provide results; construction begins in the 2025 dry season with the Canal releasing the final project specifications so that any bidder can bid on these conditions. The total cost of the program, including additional reservoirs, is estimated at $2 billion.

“We are actively working with the government to reach an agreement that will result in additional reservoir structures,” Mr. Vasquez added. The proposed additional major reservoir construction project will have to be presented to parliament, possibly opening bids next year. 

                                                                                                                   Source:Phaata.com (According to Seatrade-Maritime)