City of Panama.- The scarcity of rains pushed the Panama Canal to reduce to 32 the number of vessels that since Sunday cross the interoceanic highway daily, a measure that, in addition to reducing the income of the canal, key to the public coffers, will predictably increase the maritime jam.
The measure came into force after midnight, when, as usual, fifty boats were visible in the Bay of Panama, in the Pacific Ocean, in a line waiting their turn to cross the Canal, lighting up the horizon like a coastal city. .
“It is important to note that a reduction in the number of daily transits over an extended period will increase waiting time for some vessels, particularly those that do not obtain a reservation.” Under normal conditions, the average daily transit is between 35 and 36 ships, as explained last month by the Canal administrator, Ricaurte Vásquez, so the new measure that comes into force today translates into a reduction of between 3 and 4 ships per day.
“There is water, but no place to store it,” commented a Canal worker at the original Miraflores locks, which have provided commercial service since the inauguration in 1914 of the road built by the United States.
This morning, one of the vessels that went through the locks was a bulk carrier with the Panamanian flag, which in about an hour, after paying some 150,000 dollars, advanced guided by tugboats while it was taking place, with the opening and closing of the large gates, filling and emptying of water.
It ascended through sections of different heights up to 27 meters above sea level, and then sailed between eight and ten hours until it reached the Caribbean.
The Panama Canal connects 180 maritime routes that reach 1,920 ports in 170 countries, and about 3% of world trade passes through it. In fiscal year 2022, the Canal delivered to the Panamanian Government the historic annual amount of 2,494.4 million dollars.
In the notification warning of the restrictions “until further notice”, the ACP specified that each day 22 of the ships will pass through the Miraflores Panamax locks, and 10 will do so through the larger Neopanamax locks, inaugurated in 2016 after the expansion of the Canal. .
lack of rain
Panama’s climate system is governed by a rainy season and a dry season. The first begins in May when the cycle is normal and lasts approximately until November, and the second goes from December to April, except for the Caribbean side, where it rains almost all year.
The Panama Canal Authority explained that it was necessary to take the new measures “despite the arrival of the rainy season on the Isthmus of Panama and the continuous measures warned by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in the notice issued this week about the new restriction.
FOUNTAIN: The universal
