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☆ Panama Canal to slash booking slots due to drought over coming months
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER bulk carrier transits the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Aris Martinez/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPANAMA CITY, Oct 31 (Reuters) - The Panama Canal, one of the world's main maritime trade routes, will further reduce daily ship crossings in the coming months due to a severe drought, the authorities managing the canal said late on Monday, increasing shipping costs. Booking slots will be cut to 25 per day starting Nov. 3 from an already reduced 31 per day, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) said in a client advisory, and will be gradually reduced further over the next three months to 18 slots from Feb. 1. In recent months, the ACP has imposed various passage restrictions to conserve scarce water, including cutting vessel draft and daily passage authorizations. It also said delays for some gas transporters were at record highs in Panama, pushing up the cost of shipping liquefied gas from the U.S.

Persons: Aris Martinez, Eli Moreno, Brendan O'Boyle, Isabel Woodford, Josie Kao Organizations: Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER, REUTERS, PANAMA CITY, Panama Canal Authority, U.S . Energy, Administration, Thomson Locations: Cocoli, Panama, Panama City, PANAMA, Gatun Lake

☆ Panama Canal trims vessel passage quota again to deal with severe drought
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER bulk carrier transits the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama April 19, 2023. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in recent months has imposed various passage restrictions to conserve water, including cutting vessel draft and daily passage authorizations, which are normally 36 per day. The restrictions have generated long queues of waiting vessels, although the canal administration said Friday that levels were normal. The effects have led the canal to estimate a reduction in revenues of up to $200 million by 2024. Reporting by Elida Moreno; Editing by Drazen Jorgic and Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Aris Martinez, Elida Moreno, Drazen Jorgic, Leslie Adler Organizations: Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER, REUTERS, PANAMA CITY, Panama Canal Authority, ACP, Thomson Locations: Cocoli, Panama, Panama City, PANAMA

Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER bulk carrier transits the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Aris Martinez Acquire Licensing RightsSept 12 (Reuters) - The Panama Canal could further reduce the maximum number of vessel transits authorized per day if a drought that has hit the waterway this year continues, its administrator said on Tuesday. In a move to ease the bottleneck of ships waiting, the canal has recently changed its reservation system to allow more non-booked vessels to pass and to give priority to the ships waiting the longest. The head of the Panama Canal Authority, Ricaurte Vasquez, said the waterway would opt for reducing daily transits if needed, before planning any further cut to authorized vessel draft, which affects shippers the most. PROLONGED DROUGHTVasquez said that even though this drought has not been the most severe Panama has ever seen, it could be very long.

Persons: Aris Martinez, Vasquez, Ricaurte Vasquez, Marianna Parraga, Gary McWilliams, Timothy Gardner Organizations: Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER, REUTERS, Aris, Panama Canal Authority, Thomson Locations: Cocoli, Panama, Panama City, Pacific

☆ Panama Canal water levels at historic lows, restrictions to remain
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Elida Moreno | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bahamian LOS ANGELES SPIRIT crude oil tanker is pictured during its transit in the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama March 10, 2023. The authority that manages the canal added in a statement that this week's ship traffic represents a "normal" level for this season. It noted that a month before the end of its 2023 fiscal year, the canal's total vessel crossings already total nearly 800 more that what the canal authority's budget had forecast. Each vessel passing through the 50-mile (80-km) trans-oceanic waterway uses some 51 million gallons (193 million litres) of water from the lake. They argue that a potential early start to Panama's dry season and hotter-than-average temperatures could increase evaporation and result in near-record low water levels by April.

Persons: Aris Martinez, Eli Moreno, Brendan O'Boyle, Marianna Parraga, David Alire Garcia, Michael Perry Organizations: REUTERS, Aris, PANAMA CITY, Pacific, Thomson Locations: Cocoli, Panama, Panama City, PANAMA

The Liberian MSC UNITED VIII container ship transits in the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama March 10, 2023. The Panama Canal Authority last week opened two additional slots per day for vessels without booking to transit to help clear bottlenecks on both sides of the interoceanic corridor. As of Tuesday, 125 booked and non-booked vessels were waiting to pass, down from more than 160 ships two weeks ago, according to official numbers. However, the average wait time for vessels to pass has risen to between 10 and 11 days this month, from 6-7 days last month. The waiting surpasses 17 days for cargo vessels and liquefied petroleum gas carriers, and is almost 13 days for tankers.

Persons: Aris Martinez, Gustavo Petro, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Abe Eshkenazi, Elida Moreno, Marianna Parraga, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Liberian MSC UNITED, REUTERS, PANAMA CITY, Panama Canal Authority, Reuters, Tuesday, Panama, U.S, U.S ., Association for Supply Chain Management, Thomson Locations: Cocoli, Panama, Panama City, PANAMA, Asia, South America, Europe, China, U.S . West Coast, Chicago, Houston

[1/2] Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER bulk carrier transits the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama April 19, 2023. The Panama Canal Authority has reduced maximum ship weights and daily ship crossings in a bid to conserve water. Container ships are the most common users of the Panama Canal and transport more than 40% of consumer goods traded between Northeast Asia and the U.S. East Coast. Some shipping executives are bracing for more reductions later this year, noting that in 2020 a less severe drought prompted canal operators to reduce crossings to 27 per day. "The Panama Canal is just the latest example."

Persons: Aris Martinez, Max, Drew Lerner, Peter Sand, Steve Ferreira, STRI's Steven Paton, Paton, Brian Bourke, Lisa Baertlein, Marianna Parraga, Elida Moreno, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Deepa Babington Organizations: Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER, REUTERS, ANGELES, Evergreen Marine, Pacific, Panama Canal Authority, Northeast, U.S ., Smithsonian Tropical Research, El Nino, Central American, Canal Authority, SEKO Logistics, Thomson Locations: Cocoli, Panama, Panama City, HOUSTON, China, U.S, Northeast Asia, U.S . East Coast . U.S, United States, Chile, Brazil, Suez, Gatun Lake, El, U.S . East Coast, Los Angeles, Houston, Copenhagen

Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER bulk carrier transits the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama April 19, 2023. The Panama Canal is important for moving consumer goods from Asia to the United States, especially ahead of peak selling seasons like Christmas. The Canal also is maintaining a suspension of extraordinary auctions for transit slots in both locks through Sep. 2. "Demand remains high, which proves that the Panama Canal is still competitive in most segments, even with measures taken to save water," the authority added. The Panama Canal has a 40%-market share of containers moving from Northeast Asia to the U.S. East Coast.

Persons: Aris Martinez, Elida Moreno, Marianna Parraga, Gary McWilliams, Grant McCool Organizations: Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER, REUTERS, PANAMA CITY, Panama Canal Authority, Canal Authority, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Cocoli, Panama, Panama City, PANAMA, Asia, United States, South, Pacific Coast, Northeast Asia, U.S . East Coast

Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER bulk carrier transits the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Aris Martinez/File PhotoPANAMA CITY, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The drought-hit Panama Canal has temporarily limited the number of new reserved passage slots to help ease a bottleneck of ships that are waiting to transit without reservations, the waterway's authority said on Thursday. The canal, however, in June postponed further restrictions that would have required ships to lighten their loads to more easily pass. The bottleneck of vessels waiting to pass, however, has grown, prompting logistics and supply chain experts to predict more disruptions. Still, the bottleneck will not fall as hard on shippers as pandemic-era mishaps, including the Suez Canal blockage in 2021, according to shipping firms and customers.

Persons: Aris Martinez, Ricaurte Vasquez, Anatol Feygin, Rolf Habben Jansen, Lloyd, Elida Moreno, Marianna Parraga, Lisa Baertlein, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER, REUTERS, PANAMA CITY, Reuters, El, El Nino, Walmart, Cheniere Energy, Thomson Locations: Cocoli, Panama, Panama City, China, El, Suez

☆ Panama Canal seen losing $200 mln next year as ship crossings dip
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER bulk carrier transits the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama April 19, 2023. Specifically, between 30 and 32 ships are expected to cross daily during the new fiscal year which starts in October, said canal administrator Ricaurte Vasquez at an event. That compares to the 36 to 38 ships that transit the waterway when it operates at full capacity. The $200 million cut would reduce the canal's revenues for the 2023-2024 fiscal year to $4.9 billion. Panama typically sees heavy rains in July, and the canal authority has called the lack of precipitation "historically unprecedented."

Persons: Aris Martinez, Ricaurte Vasquez, Elida Moreno, David Alire Garcia Organizations: Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER, REUTERS, PANAMA CITY, Thomson Locations: Cocoli, Panama, Panama City

☆ Drought-hit Panama Canal further restricts maximum ship depth
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Elida Moreno | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER bulk carrier transits the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Aris Martinez/File PhotoPANAMA CITY, June 21 (Reuters) - The Panama Canal will expand restrictions on the largest ships crossing the waterway, one of the world's busiest trade passages, the canal authority's administrator said on Wednesday, citing shallower waters due to drought. Ship traffic, including container ships and oil tankers, using the canal between the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean accounts for about 3.5% of global trade. Despite the new rules limiting ships' weight, Vasquez said the flow of ships through the canal has carried on as expected so far. The limits will not affect liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, as they typically report drafts of up to 37 feet, according to the canal authority.

Persons: Aris Martinez, Ricaurte Vasquez, Vasquez, Eli Moreno, Kylie Madry, Sonali Paul Organizations: Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER, REUTERS, PANAMA CITY, Central, Reuters, Port, El Nino, Thomson Locations: Cocoli, Panama, Panama City, Central American, El

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