The Panama Canal has been jammed up by more than 200 ships amid a serious drought. Ships have been waiting for weeks on each side to cross the waterway.
Boats on each side of the entrance to the waterway have been backed up for more than 20 days in what Marine Insight called "the biggest traffic jam of the seas." Some gasoline and bulk carriers, which are needed in short order, have decided instead to circumvent the canal to get to their destinations.
In early August, the number of ships waiting to cross the canal was around 150 but it has only grown from there.
Three times as much water as New York City uses each day is used in the water flow of the canal and it relies heavily on rainfall. As a result of the continued drought, water levels have dropped precipitously causing slower traffic and higher fees to cross the waterway.
The Panama Canal Authority (PCA) has also reduced the number of available slots for the largest vessels to pass through during the month of August. The PCA has also issued a weight limit 40 percent lower than normal to cross the canal.
Canal administrator Ricaurte Vásquez Morales said in July that restrictions on the number of ships going through could last the rest of the year if the drought persists.
“The Canal communicates with its customers so that the information allows them to make the best decisions even if it means that they may choose another route temporarily,” Vásquez Morales said. “Demand remains high which proves the Panama Canal remains competitive in most segments, even with measures to save water.”
The US Army Corps of Engineers has been hired to increase the number of tributary rivers connecting to the canal in order to increase water flow.
Tim Hansen, chief commercial officer of the gas shipping company Dorian LPG, said, “The delays are changing by the day. Once you make a decision to go there is no point to return or deviate, so you can get stuck."
