The Panama Canal has increased the maximum authorized vessel draft for the waterway ahead of schedule, raising it to 45 feet as of May 30.
Panama Canal Authority (PCA) had initially targeted June 15 to implement the change. According to a release from the PCA, the decision to move the date up by more than two weeks was due to the early arrival of the rainy season for the region, as well as current and projected levels for Gatun Lake and Alhajuela Lake in the coming weeks. Both reservoirs are crucial for the day-to-day use of the canal as primary providers of water for the locks that move ships through the waterway.
The Panama Canal was plagued by drought conditions for much of 2023, leading to months of restrictions on the number and size of ships that were able to use the critical shipping channel. That appears to have eased in recent weeks, after the PCA increased the number of daily transits for the Panamax locks from 17 to 24 on May 16, while bumping daily transits for the Neopanamax locks from seven to eight on June 1. As of May 26 — and for the first time in all of 2024 — water levels for Gatun and Alhajuela Lakes are above the mark recorded on the same date in 2023.
