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The
Panama Canal Authority (ACP) will maintain a depth limit of 44
feet, or 13.41 meters, for neo-Panamax container ships.
In June, the authority put off further restrictions that would
have brought depth limits up half a foot, meaning ships would
have needed to lighten their loads to float higher.
During Panama's rainy season, an average of 35-36 ships
typically cross the canal each day, the authority has said. Each
crossing uses some 51 million gallons of water.
About 3.5% of the world's maritime trade passes through the
80-kilometer inter-oceanic waterway that connects the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans.
The depth limit will remain at the current level as long as
weather conditions do not drastically change, the ACP said in a
statement.
"As part of a worldwide phenomenon, in the last six months, the
Canal has experienced an extended dry season with high levels of
evaporation, with a high probability of an El Nino condition
before the end of this calendar year," the canal authority said.
Panama typically sees heavy rains in July, and the canal
authority called the current lack of precipitation "historically
unprecedented."
Since the beginning of the year, the canal has rolled out
water-efficiency measures while bracing itself for the long-term
effects of climate change, it said.
(Reporting by Eli Moreno; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by
Leslie Adler)
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