Panama Canal may cut ship traffic further as El Niño strengthens

Panama could impose further cuts on the number of ships sailing through the Panama Canal, an official said, as a strengthening El Niño raises fears of water shortages at one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes.

The warning from the new administrator of the Panama Canal Authority, Ilya Espino de Marotta, on Monday came after the government declared a nationwide state of emergency over El Niño on August 26.

The canal, which handles 5 percent of global maritime trade, has already reduced the maximum number of ships allowed through daily, from 36 last month to 34 starting on September 4.

A further reduction will start on September 15, when the limit will be 32 ships.

Espino, who took over as administrator of the Panama Canal Authority on Monday, told the AFP news agency that restrictions could be tightened again if the drought does not subside.

She said she was not ruling out the possibility that in February or March, the limits “could be reduced to 29 or something similar”.

She said rainfall over the coming months would determine whether further restrictions are needed.

“Depending on how much rain falls in September, October and November – the three critical months – that will determine whether I need to lower any slots further in January, February or March,” she told the Reuters news agency last week.