The serious drought in the Panama Canal, which has forced a reduction in the number of vessels authorized for daily transit since last year, threatens to impact global supply chains by complicating the flow of global trade in a period of high demand. the firm S&P Global said on Wednesday.
The Central American canal, through which around 5 percent of global trade transits, has imposed various passage restrictions since 2023, including a reduction in the draft allowed to ships and a reduction in the maximum number of ships authorized to pass through it.
But in March, the Panama Canal Authority announced an increase to 27, from 24, in the daily quotas for ship crossings, due to an improvement in the water level and in Gatun Lake, which supplies the infrastructure.
Even so, S&P Global warned in an analyst report on cargo and raw materials transportation that “capacity pressures in the Panama Canal are beginning to have an effect on supply chains.”
“Container ships are yet to feel the impact given their priority status, although the situation is changing,” he added.
Container ships have priority to pass through the Panama Canal, but transit restrictions since 2023 have hurt other categories, especially bulk ships.
If the rains arrive in May as expected, the Panama Canal Authority plans to progressively increase daily slots, with the goal of returning to about 36 ships a day, its normal number during the rainy season.
The need to preserve water levels in the reservoirs that feed the Canal has prevented it from absorbing the growing demand from the Red Sea, where Houthi attacks – a Yemeni group – have hindered the passage of ships in the Suez Canal, the busiest waterway in the world.
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– 2024-04-05 14:06:51
