Panama Canal is experiencing an unprecedented drought since 1950, which has not only significantly reduced the transit capacity of the canal but also caused increasingly severe delays for container ships passing through the Panama Canal!

Data shows that in the first week of August, the average delay for each ship in the Panama Canal has reached 15 to 19 days!

It is understood that due to the heavy drought, the Panama Canal Authority has reduced the maximum draft depth of its new Panamax locks by about 2 meters and reduced the maximum daily transit of vessels by 20%. Starting from July 30th, the number of ships passing through the canal per day has been reduced from 36-38 to 32.

Below is the Navigation Restriction Notice from Panama Canal: 

Source: One Shipping