By Elesha George
The bustling trade routes of the Panama Canal are facing significant disruption due to an ongoing water shortage, impacting cargo shipments destined for Antigua and Barbuda and several other countries in the Pacific and Atlantic.
Erick Cordoba, acting Water Division Manager at Panamanian Canal Authority (ACP), said while he could not give specific figures for the impact on Antigua and Barbuda, the current drought conditions have caused ACP to reduce the number of ships they allow to pass through the waterway each day.
The Panama Canal, known as one of the world’s busiest maritime passages, is grappling with low water levels that are hampering shipping operations and causing delays.
According to Cordoba, the current drought conditions have forced the ACP to take measures to mitigate the water shortage’s impact. To conserve water, the number of ships permitted to transit the canal each day has been reduced. He stated, “we need a lot of fresh water to keep operations in the Canal. Right now, we have some restrictions with the amount of vessels that transits every day. We usually transit about 35/36 vessels per day”.
This has been scaled back to only allowing 32 vessels to pass through the canal daily.
The Panama Canal is a critical artery for global maritime trade, facilitating approximately six percent of the world’s maritime shipping. Many ships from countries such as the USA, China, and Japan traverse the canal’s locks, which utilise rainwater to lift vessels as high as 26 meters above sea level. Each vessel consumes approximately 200,000 cubic metres of fresh water, however, due to the water shortage, larger ships with greater draft requirements are facing challenges, impacting the ACP’s revenue collection.
Cordoba revealed that the drought conditions have led to a loss of about 2 meters of draft, making it difficult for larger ships to navigate. To adapt to these conditions, shipping companies have been informed well in advance about the impending drought restrictions, enabling them to adjust their cargo loads accordingly.
“We keep conversations with the shipping companies. We announce several months in advance that the drought is going to have some drought restrictions so that the shipping company limits the cargo that is in the vessels in order to meet the restriction that we have in the canal,” he explained.
The Canal also supplies fresh water for human consumption and in total uses 1.5 million cubic metres per day. To address the shortage, the ACP has initiated water-saving measures, including recycling water in specialised basins used to move ships.
Additionally, the ACP has temporarily halted hydropower production, relying on local electric markets and thermal plants to support canal operations.
As the drought continues, the Panama Canal is anticipated to maintain its limit on the maximum draft at 44 feet. According to Cordoba, these measures are imperative for maintaining optimal water levels by the year’s end. This preparedness is crucial to ensure continued service to its numerous customers, especially considering the predicted worsening of drought conditions during the upcoming dry season, set to commence in March 2024.
“At this time, we are in the wet season and the precipitation is below normal, so probably at the end of this year we are not going to reach the top level for both reservoirs. So, we are going to start the dry season with low levels in the lakes.
“So, the worse conditions for the canal in terms of draft and in terms of the water supply for our population, is going to be at the end of the dry season of the next year march/April 2022,” Cordona warned.
