A drought forces the Panama Canal operator to conserve water and reduce capacity. In front of both entrances of the important trade route, numerous ships have to wait for their passage – and the number is increasing every day.
The Panama Canal is one of the most important passages for world trade. However, because of the persistent low water, the authorities have restricted passage. As a result, more and more ships are piling up in front of the 80-kilometer-long waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. More than 200 ships are now waiting to sail through the canal – some of them for almost three weeks.
(Photo: www.marinetraffic.com)
July is the rainy season in Panama, so normally 36 ships would pass through the canal every day. But there has been a lack of rainfall for weeks. The reason is the weather phenomenon “El Niño”, which is intensified by climate change. The extent is “historically unprecedented”, according to the channel authority. She reduced the passage to 32 ships per day. For the last six months, the canal has been experiencing an unusual drought with little precipitation and high evaporation at the same time.
The lack of water restricts shipping on the canal in two ways: First, the larger ships have to reduce their draft by reducing their cargo. On the other hand, the lock capacity is reduced. Because they use almost 200 million liters of fresh water for each use, which then flows into the oceans.
The canal is of enormous importance for international trade. About 3.5 percent of global maritime trade is handled through it. Most of the ships stuck in traffic are tankers carrying items such as gas and chemicals, and bulk carriers carrying items such as grain, iron ore, coal, cement and fertilizer. They are usually booked at short notice.
170 countries affected
In the case of container ships, on the other hand, the effects have so far only been minor. Because they drive on routes and according to timetables that are set for the long term. Shipping companies book their passage through the canal up to a year in advance. They are therefore given preferential treatment by the canal authority and do not have to wait at all or only a little. However, this does not apply to all container freighters. “We had two ships that couldn’t book, and that got pretty expensive,” the Washington Post quoted a manager at Maersk shipping company as saying. “We went to an auction and paid $900,000 per ship in addition to the normal $400,000 toll to allow passage.”
According to the Reuters news agency, about 170 countries and almost every type of goods are affected by the restrictions – including soybeans and liquefied natural gas from the United States, copper and fresh cherries from Chile and beef from Brazil. Ships bound for the United States have Barbie dolls, car parts, solar cells, water purification devices and diabetes test kits on board.
The shipping companies have few alternatives, they all cost money and tend to make the goods more expensive. You can carry less cargo, take alternative routes that add thousands of nautical miles to the journey, or queue in front of the canal. Some companies are diverting ships loaded with coal and liquefied natural gas to Egypt’s Suez Canal.
Lack of rainfall in the region may become the new normal due to climate change. Against this background, the canal operator wants to divert four more rivers into the canal in addition to the three rivers that already feed the canal with water. The project should be implemented in ten years and cost around 2 billion dollars.
Meanwhile, it doesn’t look as if the situation at the entrance to the Panama Canal will ease anytime soon. According to the authority, the capacity will remain limited to 32 ships per day at least until the beginning of September.