Panama Canal Has Cut Maximum Loading Draft Four Times Since June; 47.5 Feet Now in Force With No End Date
Panama Canal Authority (ACP) advisories show the canal has cut its maximum loading draft four times since June, La Caribeña News reported on October 18 after reviewing the notices. The current limit is 47.5 feet, in force since September 3 with no end date attached. The measures were issued as Advisories to Shipping A-18, A-22, A-23, A-24 and A-25, published on the authority's website, pancanal.com.
Loading draft is the depth to which a loaded ship sits in the water; a lower limit means vessels must lighten their loads to transit. The authority calls the measures proactive and has not said its reservoirs are short of water, the report said.
The Panama Canal links the Atlantic and Pacific and is one of the world's main trade arteries, so draft limits directly affect how much container and bulk ships can carry per transit and how carriers schedule sailings. Any further change will depend on dry-season rainfall and water levels in reservoirs such as Gatun Lake.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：船舶通过巴拿马运河船闸。来源：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0 / Photo: A vessel transiting a Panama Canal lock. Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
