Panama Canal rules out new transit restrictions due to El Niño

Transits will remain at 32 per day, and the maximum draft in the Neopanamax locks at 48, said the administrator of the Canal Authority, Ilya Espino de Marotta.

The recent rains in August and September have improved the conditions of the lakes that supply water to the Panama Canal, both for ship transit and for the population’s consumption, so the Panama Canal Authority rules out announcing new restrictions, at least until December.

Espino de Marotta stated at the Industrial Symposium on Sustainability, Energy and Water of the Panama Industrial Union that the Canal maintains the current limit of 32 daily transits and that water conditions would allow this operation to continue until December.

“The situation, thank God, is improving somewhat compared to what we had anticipated. So much so that the draft restrictions we had planned to announce, further reducing the draft from 48, we are maintaining at least until December.”

The administrator explained that the rainfall patterns during October and November will be crucial in determining whether further adjustments to the Canal’s operation will be necessary.

“If we have a very good October and November, then let’s hope that we don’t have to reduce the number of transits any further.”

However, he indicated that the draft will continue to be subject to the conditions of the dry season, since during those months the availability of water decreases.

“We know that there will be restrictions on the draft because it won’t rain in the summer. So we know that December might be a dry month, but we are optimistic that we won’t have to reach the situation we had in ’24.”