16 April 2024 (Lloyd's List) - THE Panama Canal Authority (ACP) is increasing the number of booking slots and raising maximum draught levels as rainfall improves in the drought-stricken waterway.
Bookable transits through the Panama Canal will increase incrementally starting next month, while maximum allowable draught in the neopanamax locks will rise in mid-June, the ACP said in an advisory on Monday.
"Based on the present and projected level of Gatun Lake, the Panama Canal Authority announces an increase in booking slots in the panamax locks beginning May 16. In addition, effective June 1, an additional slot will become available in the neopanamax locks."
The number of bookable transits will drop slightly from 27 to 24 in the second week of May for scheduled maintenance before rising to 31 from May 15. However, the number of slots for the neopanamax locks will remain unchanged at seven until June 1, when they will rise to eight. That will increase total slots to 32, where they will remain until further notice.
In addition, starting June 15, maximum draught through the neopanamax locks will rise to 13.71 metres (45 ft), up from the current limit of 13.41m (44 ft).
When the increases are fully implemented in June, the number of transits will be the same as the previous year, although the composition will favour for two additional panamax transits at the expense of the neopanamax locks. The maximum allowable draught would also return to year-earlier levels.
Overall, the added slots would put the canal four transits short of the "normal" 36 per day.
The El Niño weather phenomenon led to the third-driest year in the canal's history. The ACP began limiting draughts early last year as the drought took a toll on waters levels in the Gatun Lake and added restrictions on daily transits as the year progressed and conditions worsened.
After experiencing its driest October on record, the ACP planned to limit daily transits to 20 in January and 18 in February, but better-than-expected rainfall in November led it to instead increase it to 24 in January, with additional slots added in March.
ACP deputy administrator Ilya Espino de Marotta told the CMA Shipping conference last month that she expected normal transit levels to resume by September.
The ACP's announcement comes as the canal is finally seeing a rebound in daily transits, with March transits recording their first sequential gain since July 2023.
Transits through the neopanamax locks were up 8.5% from February, while those through the panamax locks were up 14.8%.
However, that is still far below normal levels for this time year, with neopanamax and panamax transits down 22% and 36% year on year, respectively.
