MEXICO CITY: Shipping traffic through the Panama Canal will be further reduced due to the low water levels in the important waterway, the administration said Tuesday, reported German news agency (dpa).
By February next year, the number of bookable ship passages will be gradually reduced from 30 to 18 per day, the canal administration said.
In recent months, less rain and higher temperatures have caused the water level in the Panama Canal’s artificial Lake Gatún to drop, which has an impact on operations.
Since 1950, there has never been so little rain in October as this year and little rainfall is expected until the end of the year.
“Despite all measures taken, the level of Gatun Lake has continued to decline to unprecedented levels for this time of year,“ the Panama Canal authority said.
Not only has the number of ship passages been reduced in recent months, the maximum draught at which ships are allowed to pass through the canal had also been lowered.
The Panama Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world. It connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by cutting across Central America.
The canal, which begins in Colón in the north and ends near Panama City in the south, is about 80 km long.
About 14,000 ships travel through the Panama Canal every year, accounting for about six per cent of world trade.
The waterway has three lock systems through which the ships are raised to the level of Lake Gatún, a large artificial reservoir 28 metres above sea level, and later lowered again.
As less rain falls in the region and temperatures rise, the Lake Gatún water level drops, which has affected navigability. -Bernama-dpa
