The Panama Canal Authority (PCA) announced this week that it is limiting boat crossings in the waterway due to a lack of rain in October.
PCA said it is reducing the number of daily crossings to 25 vessels from Nov. 3-7, with Neopanamax vessels getting eight slots, supers getting 12, and regulars allowed five slots. From Nov. 8-30, the daily limit will drop to 24 vessels, with Neopanamax vessels getting seven slots, supers getting 13, and regulars getting four. The slots include advance bookings and auction slots.
For the month of December, the daily limit will drop to 22, with Neopanamax vessels allowed six slots, supers 12, and regulars down to four. Another drop in January will reduce the daily limit to 20, with Neopanamax vessels getting five slots, supers 11, and regulars four slots. In February the limit falls to 18, with Neopanamax vessels getting five slots, supers 10, and regulars three.
The move came after the driest October since 1950, PCA said, with 41% less rainfall than normal causing water levels across the Canal system to fall to unprecedented lows. PCA said 2023 is lining up to be the second driest year since 1950.
PCA in July said reduced rainfall earlier in the year required a reduction in the number of vessels allowed to cross the canal each day to 31, which included nine through the Neopanamax locks and 22 through the Panamax locks. The latest cutbacks were made to avoid ordering further limitations on the draft of vessels. The current draft allowed is 44 feet, the deepest point of immersion allowed in Gatun Lake.
Approximately 90 vessels were in the queue to transit the canal on Nov. 2, including 36 ships with advance bookings and another 54 waiting for an open slot. The average wait time to enter the canal over the past month for a non-booked vessel was about two days, according to PCA figures, with an extra day added for the Neopanamax ships. That delay is expected to increase under the new rules.