Panama Canal maintains 50-foot draft through dry season
Container transits have increased, and dry bulk volumes have recovered from last year, port officials said.
IMAGE: The Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. Getty Images
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has reported that the waterway is now operating at full capacity, following severe and extended drought conditions that began in 2023.
"We have remained at 50 feet of draft throughout the dry season, and we will continue to have a relatively wet winter, or rainy season for the remainder of the year in preparation of the next dry season in early 2026,” Dr. Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, Chief Financial Advisor (CFO), said.
Severe drought conditions earlier led the ACP to cut daily transit slots and reduce maximum draft limits, causing shipowners to reroute vessels.
Bunker fuel demand in Panama rose in the first six months (H1) of 2025.
Total bunker sales reached 2.74 million mt, up 20% from 2.28 million mt in the same period of 2024, and 10% higher than 2.48 million mt in H1 2023.
The ACP Board has approved another $1.6 billion Rio Indio reservoir project, which is expected to enable 15 additional daily transits and provide up to 970 million gallons of water per day to support future operations.
To fund these plans, the ACP has cut its debt from $2.6 billion in 2019 to $600 million.
By Gautamee Hazarika
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