Ship transits through the Panama Canal will not be further reduced due to drought conditions, at least until April, the Deputy Administrator of the Canal Authority, Ilya Espino, informed Reuters on February 6, 2024. He added that an assessment update is scheduled for April, with the hope that anticipated rainfall in May will allow an increase from the current twenty-four transits per day. This confirms the gradual improvement in canal navigation conditions, which had progressively deteriorated throughout 2023, leading to a reduction in the number of passages and the draft of ships.
In the last quarter of 2023, some rainfall suspended further transit restrictions that the Authority had planned for January 2023. If the situation continues to improve, the canal could return to its usual number of 36 transits per day within the first half of the year. However, if the rains do not begin by May, the number of daily passages could be reduced by one or two. Regardless, the Authority continues to prioritize container ships over bulk carriers.
