The Panama Canal quota has been reduced by five more places and is expected to be reduced

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) said in an announcement on the evening of October 30 that the number of passes on the Panama Canal will be reduced from 31 to 25 per day starting November 3, and will be gradually reduced over the next three months, with a plan to reduce the number to 18 per day by February 2024. According to reports, the Panama Canal is located in Central America, connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean two major water systems, is one of the world's important shipping arteries.

In recent months, the ACP has imposed various movement restrictions to protect scarce water resources.

The canal authority previously announced that due to the ongoing drought, shipping restrictions would be imposed from July 30, but did not specify an end date for the restrictions. The ACP said that the water level of Lake Gatun, Panama's man-made lake and the main reservoir for rainfall, had fallen to an unprecedented low in 2023.

The ACP said the precipitation recorded in October 2023 was the lowest since records began in 1950 (41% lower than 1950), and 2023 was also the second-driest year since 1950. El Nino and excessive tropical ocean water temperatures in the east-central Pacific have reportedly led to droughts in the Panama Canal.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's analysis highlights that passage delays in the Panama Canal have reduced the number of ships available worldwide, thereby raising shipping rates elsewhere. The report also shows that some Panamanian gas shippers are experiencing record delays, raising the cost of transporting liquefied gas from the United States.