The Panama Canal announced it will allow ships with a bigger flotation depth to cross, as part of an ongoing, post-drought normalisation of traffic.
As of late Tuesday, vessels with a draught of 49 feet (14.94 metres) will be allowed through the waterway’s neo-panamax locks, up from 48 feet previously.
This is the third time since June that the canal’s administration is easing its draught requirements, which stood at 46 feet at the time.
The number of vessels allowed through is gradually increasing as well.
As already announced by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) last month, the number of daily transits through the neo-panamax and panamax locks rose to 35 transits on 5 August and is scheduled to increase to 36 in September.
This will be equivalent to the canal’s regular scenario, which allowed 10 neo-panamaxes and 26 classic panamaxes to transit.
The ACP had sent shockwaves through the shipping world in October 2023, when it announced plans to slash traffic to 18 daily crossings, as prolonged drought threatened Gatun and Alajuela lakes water levels.
Even though not all of these cuts were eventually implemented, the number of daily crossings still dropped to an unusually low number of 25 at the start of 2024.
Water-saving measures and better-than-expected rainfall have eased the situation.
As TradeWinds reported on 31 July, 36 transits are expected to be allowed again in September.
Transits are “practically back to normal”, Panama Canal deputy administrator Ilya Espino de Marotta was quoted by Reuters as saying.
