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