Panama Canal may further reduce crossings due to El Niño

The Panama Canal may experience further reductions in ship crossings due to drought caused by the strong El Niño weather pattern, according to the new administrator of the waterway, Ilya Espino de Marotta. Panama has declared a nationwide emergency over El Niño, which is affecting global weather patterns and pushing up temperatures.

The canal, which handles five percent of global maritime trade, has already reduced the maximum number of ships allowed through daily from 36 to 32 by mid-September due to low reservoir levels caused by El Niño. If the drought persists, further measures may be implemented, possibly reducing the limit to around 29 ships per day. Each ship requires about 200 million liters of water, which is then discharged into the sea.

Experts warn that long-term restrictions on canal crossings could lead to higher shipping costs and longer waiting times for deliveries. The United States and China are the main users of the canal, which is the fastest maritime route between the east coast of the United States and China.

Brief written by urgent.news from RTE News's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.