The Panama Canal’s budget for fiscal year 2024 begins next Sunday, as the authority will continue to manage its operations to maximize water availability in the extreme drought conditions experienced by the country, maintaining the draft at 44 feet and the number of transits between 30 and 32 per day, as previously announced.
Hence today, the Canal announced that as of November 1st, the average number of transits through the Canal will be adjusted to 31 transits per day: nine through the Neopanamax locks and 22 through the Panamax locks.
Additionally, changes will be made to the booking system, introducing Operating Condition 5. Under this condition, the daily transit reservation quotas will be adjusted to a maximum of 30 reservations: eight in the Neopanamax locks and the difference in the Panamax locks.
To allow customers to adjust their itineraries and reduce waiting times for vessels that do not have a reservation, Condition 3 will be in effect from October 4 to 31, limiting the total number of reservations at the Panamax locks to a total of 14.
This measure makes it possible to manage the number of vessels on standby and ensures that vessels en route or in queue, which have not been booked, can transit within reasonable timeframes.
These adjustments have been made to manage the water shortage, among other actions to administrate transits, which have allowed the Canal to stabilize waiting times for customers.
For further details, please click on the link to the latest Advisory to Shipping.
It is worth noting that, despite weather conditions, the Panama Canal has maintained the number of vessels waiting at standard levels for the season, thanks to efficient management and the commitment of its workforce. At the start of operations today, there were a total of 93 vessels on standby compared to 97 vessels at the same time last year.
Vessels in queue for transit
| September 2022 | Today | |
| Panamax | 71 | 81 |
| Neopanamax | 26 | 12 |
| Total | 97 | 93 |
Links:
Vessels in queue for transit
Real-time Weather Radar Animation (updated every 5 minutes)
Daily average level of Alhajuela reservoir for the last 12 months
Daily average level of Gatun Reservoir for the last 12 months
Daily precipitation (rainfall) by sub-basins (Alhajuela/Gatun) and cumulative in CHCP current year 2023
About the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal Authority is an autonomous legal entity of the Republic of Panama in charge of the operation, administration, management, preservation, maintenance, and modernization of the Panama Canal, as well as its activities and related services, so that the Canal may operate in a safe, continuous, efficient manner. For more information, please refer to the Canal’s website: https://www.pancanal.com or follow us on Twitter @thepanamacanal.
