Research
The 2023 Panama Canal drought was driven primarily by El Niño — not yet attributable to anthropogenic climate change — but cut daily transits by roughly 40%, generated $5–8 billion in global supply-chain costs, and exposed a structural vulnerability: a lock system consuming 52 million gallons of freshwater per transit, with water demand projected to more than double by 2050, has no seawater substitute and no peer-reviewed model yet combining that demand growth against high-emissions rainfall scenarios. The central unresolved tension is whether this is a priceable, cyclical risk manageable through tolls, slot auctions, and reservoir investment — as the Canal Authority and market analysts argue — or whether that framing externalizes water scarcity and displacement costs onto canal-adjacent Panamanian communities who bear the hydrological burden of global trade without proportionate voice in its governance. Labor and informal-sector impacts on those communities remain entirely unquantified in the literature, which is a significant gap given that the canal's "resilience" depends on freshwater that also supplies drinking water for roughly half of Panama's population.
And finally in November 2023 it announced that only 25 crossings would be allowed per day. 50% more than normal.
The last El Niño in 2023/2024 severely impacted operations at the Panama Canal. They announced repeated steps lowering the draft to the 43-to-44 ...
In 2023, approximately 22% of global seaborne container trade passed through the canal 1, carrying goods. Panama Canal, 2021 0% 10% 20% 30% 25. ...
Through Advisory to Shipping No. A-54-2023, the Panama Canal announced today that it will increase the number of daily transits to 24 ...
Based on current and projected water levels at Gatun Lake, the ACP said the new draft restriction would become effective on 3 July 2026,
The 2025 Panama Canal drought slashes daily transits to 18 ships, forces rerouting via Suez or Cape routes adding 7-10 days, and hikes freight ...
In recent months, a severe drought exacerbated by El Niño has caused water shortages in Central America that are expected to persist well into 2024. As a result ...
Water levels have fallen to critical lows because of one of the most severe worst droughts in the canal's 143-year history.
This article argues that contemporary maritime chokepoints create significant strategic vulnerabilities, but they do not necessarily render the ...
While the Suez Canal provides an alternative for Europe-Asia trade, longer transit times to the US East Coast may increase costs for importers.
The canal holds the key to the export of U.S. natural gas – and possibly crude oil — to markets in Asia. This is a big deal, with a lot at stake for U.S. ...
The delay has caused some shipping companies to reroute through the Suez Canal, CNBC reported that so far, 90% of container ships going to the ...
It took four years to build all of the locks from the first concrete being laid at Gatun on August 24, 1909. Until the late measurements of water/cement/sand
The Suez Canal, a critical waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, handled approximately 12% to 15% of global trade in 2023.
Panama routing takes 26 days versus 27 days via Suez at non-stop transit at 18 knots; each ship takes “11 days longer” for total transit time.
An El Niño-fueled drought is forcing the Panama Canal to reduce ship traffic, which could have profound impacts for businesses and consumers.
This US$350 million project supports reforms organized under two pillars. The first focuses on promoting a clean energy transition, socially ...
More than 2.3 million b/d of petroleum and other liquids were transported through the canal in FY 2025 (October 1, 2024–September 30, 2025), ...
Esta escasez impulsó desde marzo una serie de restricciones por parte de la Autoridad del Canal de Panamá, que consistieron en recortes graduales del límite máximo de calado18 que pueden alcanzar las naves a lo largo del Canal. ... Ahora bien, con la intensificación de la temporada seca durante el...
The Panama canal will cut the number of ships passing through it starting next month because of drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon, the operator of the strategic waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific said Thursday. From 3 September, the number of vessels allowed through each day will fall ...
La Autoridad del Canal de Panamá, que lo administra, emitió en los últimos meses estrictas restricciones de calado.
Consecuencias inmediatas: Como respuesta, las autoridades han impuesto restricciones al número de buques que atraviesan el canal y a su capacidad máxima. ... Es probable que las interrupciones en el canal tengan un efecto limitado en la economía de Panamá.
PANAMA CITY, May 15 (Reuters) - The Panama Canal is not planning vessel passage restrictions for the remainder of 2026 even if an El Niño weather pattern begins in the second half of the year as predicted, potentially leading to another drought in the Central American country, the waterway told Re...
Sin embargo, desde noviembre de 2023, la capacidad del canal se ha visto gravemente limitada y el canal, al igual que todo el país, sufre una escasez de agua sin precedentes. ... Dado que el agua del lago es necesaria para el funcionamiento de las esclusas del canal, se ha restringido considerableme...
CIUDAD DE PANAMÁCIUDAD DE PANAMÁ — CIUDAD DE PANAMÁ (AP) — La carestía de agua por el Canal de Panamá, que ha forzado una reducción de 38 a 24 el número los tránsitos en la actualidad, tendrá un impacto económico adverso mucho más fuerte que el previsto meses atrás. Su administrador Ricaurte Vásquez...
El impacto económico si se siguen dando **restricciones en el Canal podría ser en promedio de $400 millones** o más, según estudios realizados por la** Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (ACP) ** en conjunto con **Cuerpo de Ingenieros del Ejército de Estados Unidos.**
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