Panama Canal Mulls Building New Reservoir as Restrictions Further Ease Up
Less than two weeks after loosening its draft restrictions ahead of schedule, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) is adding more daily slots for vessels to pass through next month.
The Panama Canal will increase the current number of daily transits from 32 to 33, effective July 11. This number will then increase again to 34 as of July 22. According to the ACP, the changes are based on “the positive effect of the rainy season” in the canal’s watershed and the present and projected level of the rainfall-fed Gatún Lake.
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The canal will add an additional slot to each set of its locks in July. The Neopanamax locks, which were constructed to fit ships longer than 966 feet when the canal expanded in 2016, will add a daily slot for a total of nine daily transits as of July 11. On July 22, the Panamax locks will also add a new slot bringing its daily transits to 25.
Throughout 2023, the Panama Canal reduced daily transits through the waterway all the way down to 22 per day in December amid a months-long drought that resulted in shallower water levels at Gatún Lake.
If rainfall keeps up as expected, the conditions in the canal should fully normalize by 2025, the ACP initially said in April. Under regular circumstances, 36 to 38 vessels are allowed to be booked to transit the Panama Canal per day.
But there could be more changes on the horizon given the uncertainty surrounding the 50-mile canal.
In a statement on June 3, the Panama Canal’s administrator Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, said the waterway will need another long-term solution amid climate change and extreme weather events like El Ni?o, as well as population growth across the country.
Morales indicated that the ACP is exploring the construction of a new reservoir that would provide capacity for an additional 11 transits.
“This strategic investment promises longer-term security for the canal and reliability for its customers, though construction would first demand support from government and communities living in the Panama Canal watershed area,” said Morales.
This endeavor appears to be contingent on government approval. In May, Panama’s president elect, Jose Raul Mulino, told Reuters that he will urge lawmakers to approve a law enabling the Panama Canal to operate on more land to build large water reservoirs. Mulino wants the law to be the first approved under his administration.
Mulino, who won the country’s presidential election on May 6, is set to take office on July 1 for a five-year term.
Starting June 15, the canal is also increasing the maximum draft again by one foot for Neopanamax vessels to 46 feet. The canal had restricted entry to vessels with a 44-foot draft since May 30, 2023, before lightening the restrictions to 45 feet at the end of last month. At peak, the canal’s limitations allow for a 50-foot draft to pass through.
ACP wants to make Panama Canal reservation system ‘more permanent’
The canal also recently amended its reservation system to get more ships through the waterway and “accommodate the dynamic needs of global maritime traffic,” according to Morales.
Under the new regulations, any vessel that has made a reservation may be eligible to transit the canal up to two days or more prior to its originally reserved date.
Morales said that the climate shifts that impacted the canal’s operations in 2023 pushed the “diligent” use of the daily booking system for all vessels. Only about 70 percent of transits were booked in advance prior to the drought, he noted.
“In fact, the first quarter of this year saw a 10-hour reduction in wait times compared to the previous year, translating not only to improved efficiency but also tangible environmental benefits from reduced vessel idling and consequent carbon emissions,” said Morales. “As we aim for lasting operational improvements, our goal is to make this reservation system more permanent, even as transit volumes begin to normalize, to further enhance the canal’s reliability.”
During May, 805 vessels transited the Panama Canal, up from 789 in April. But on a per-day basis, the number of transits dropped for the first time since January, likely due to the maintenance period scheduled for some of the canal’s locks during the month.
The maintenance was a contributor to 2024’s first month-to-month increase in canal waters time—the average time it takes a vessel to transit the canal, including waiting time for passage. That metric was 22.9 hours on average in May, up from the 20.2-hour average in April.