Global warming is once again penalizing the Panama Canal. Water stress is forcing canal authorities to once again impose navigation restrictions on this sea route that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. They announced on Tuesday draft limitations, that is to say the height of the submerged part of a boat which varies according to the load carried. This measure is put in place due to the drop in the level of the lakes which supply the canal with water, reports the Reuters agency. Coming into force on Wednesday, the decision means that the largest container ships, dubbed the “neo-panamax”, must now respect a maximum depth of 47.5 feet against 50 previously. This forces owners to reduce the weight of their boats by transporting less goods.
“These new measures are due to recent drought conditions,” said authorities at the canal, which is located in one of the rainiest regions in the world. Due to rising temperatures, rainfall remains unstable and the increased rate of evaporation dries up nearby lakes. This is the fifth time since the beginning of the year that an adjustment of this type has been implemented on this crucial passageway through which approximately 3.5% of world maritime trade passes.
The battle against lack of water is not new in Panama. The canal’s complex infrastructure consumes a lot of fresh water, unlike, for example, the Suez Canal, which is filled with seawater and whose flow is de facto defined by the tides. Every day, the passages of locks cause a loss of several billion cubic meters of fresh water, then discharged into the sea.
Faced with the climate crisis that threatens the viability of waterways and world trade in its wake, the authorities have had no choice but to deploy an arsenal of measures for several years. In 2019, a particularly dry year, when the watershed suffered a rainfall deficit of 20% compared to the seventy-year average rainfall, the canal administration was forced to restrict traffic from 32 to 27 passages daily. However, this did not hinder the record turnover that same year, four years after gigantic work to widen the tracks which allowed the passage of larger containers.
In 2020, the person in charge of the canal, Ricaurte Vasquez, implemented a surcharge aimed at compensating for the shortage of water due to repeated droughts. Vessels over 38.1 meters long and 27.7 meters wide have since had to pay a fixed price in addition to 10,000 dollars. The navigation restrictions are temporary and will be lifted when the rainy season begins in May.
