News
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) will ease the transit restrictions that it has implemented due to drought in stages as the end of the dry season is approaching.
Based on the present and projected water levels of Gatun Lake, and due to the Operational Water Strategy (OWS) that the Panama Canal has implemented, additional slots announced earlier this month are now available as of March 25, bringing the total transits offered up to 27 per day. Current forecasts indicate that steady rainfall will arrive in late April and continue for a few months. If this remains the case, the canal plans to gradually ease transit restrictions, allowing conditions to fully normalize by 2025.
The number of vessels outside the Panama Canal, approximately 50, is on par with the amount expected under the current conditions with 27 slots available daily. The majority of vessels have reservations and routinely arrive early ahead of their allotted date to transit the canal.
The average waiting time for vessels arriving without reservations this year has been just under 2.5 days, far lower than the 3.6 days experienced between January and March last year, and the 3.8 days recorded during the same period in 2022.
