The Panama Canal Authority has announced that it will delay some of the planned reductions in daily transits starting next month due to slight improvements in the reservoir’s water levels. This comes as good news for the shipping industry, which has been increasingly diverting vessels as the conflict in the Red Sea threatens to choke off a critical alternate route. The changes will restore two slots that had been removed from the daily transits, bringing the total to 24 daily transits starting in January 2024.
The Panama Canal Authority attributes the changes to less adverse rainfall in November and positive outcomes from its water-saving measures. However, they highlight that October 2023 was the driest October on record in Panama, and it is still expected to be the second driest year recorded in the history of the Panama Canal watershed. The decision to reverse the anticipated further restrictions is also a business issue for the canal, which is experiencing a decline in revenues.
To ease the wait for vessels without reservations, the authority is adding more slots to the booking system for transits and making adjustments to the administration of reservations, including a limit of one booking slot per customer per date and priority for full container vessels. The hope is to provide a more equitable and fair distribution of slots and allow more vessels through the Panama Canal on a daily basis.
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