Start of rainy season improves conditions within Panama Canal

Ships transit through the Panama Canal, which is allowing deeper drafts and more transits per day.
Ships transit through the Panama Canal, which is allowing deeper drafts and more transits per day.
Ships transit through the Panama Canal, which is allowing deeper drafts and more transits per day.

The Panama Canal Authority has increased the maximum authorized draft of ships transiting through the canal system to 45 feet as water levels rise within Gatun Lake.

The maximum draft for neo-Panamax ships transiting the canal is 50 feet, but draft restrictions have been in place since last summer after reduced rainfall lowered water levels in the Gatun Lake reservoir, the larger of two lakes that support the Panama Canal locks. 

The Canal Authority, which operates the critical waterway, increased maximum drafts to 45 feet on May 30, roughly two weeks ahead of schedule. The authority attributed the change to the start of the rainy season and current and projected Gatun Lake water levels.

The number of daily transits through the Panamax locks rose to 24 as of May 16. Daily transits through the neo-Panamax locks increased by one to eight transits effective June 1. That capacity allows 32 ship transits per day. 

In April 2024, the Canal Authority released a document intending to “dispel myths” about canal system operations. It said wait times in 2024 for ships without reservations averaged 2.5 days — about a day shorter than in 2022 and 2023. The authority also highlighted its efforts to preserve water quality within Gatun Lake.

The Canal Authority also acknowledged the effects of climate change on the waterway, which it said has made rainfall patterns less predictable and consistent than in the past.

As of June 2, Gatun Lake water levels were above 81 feet, about 6 feet below June 2022 levels but 2 feet higher than June 2023. The authority expects to gradually ease transit restrictions through 2024 and hopes conditions will “normalize” by 2025.

The Panama Canal is a crucial piece of the U.S. freight transportation system, and draft restrictions have reduced cargo volumes through the Canal by up to 10 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics said in a February 2024 report.

According to the agency, U.S. East Coast ports exported more than 125 million long tons of cargo and imported more than 61 million long tons of cargo through the canal system in 2023. U.S. West Coast ports exported about 3 million long tons of cargo and imported more than 6.4 million tons on ships that sailed through the Panama Canal.

Additionally, the data showed, roughly $9 billion worth of agricultural products from the ports of Baton Rouge and New Orleans moved through the canal system last year.