Authority to reduce the draft of megaships from 3 July
The Panama Canal Authority has announced that it will reduce the maximum draft allowed for Neopanamax vessels from 3 July as it prepares for the return of the El Niño. This means that the largest ships using the canal must sit shallower in the water, forcing them to carry less cargo to avoid scraping the bottom.
The preventative measure marks the first time the canal has tightened restrictions since recovering from a severe multi-year drought crisis.
Under the new restrictions, the maximum allowed draft for Neopanamax vessels will drop from 15.24m to 15.09m. The reduction may seem small, but when it comes to cargo on the world’s biggest ships, every centimetre counts.
According to the latest reports from the Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology of Panama, there is a greater than 85 per cent probability that El Niño event will develop strongly in the coming months. Climate modelling suggests that the effects of drought and lack of rainfall in the watershed could persist until 2027.
Official projections show that Lake Gatun – which provides the millions of gallons of freshwater needed to operate the canal’s lock systems – will experience a gradual decrease in its levels over the coming weeks. The Panama Canal Authority’s current strategy is to conserve every possible drop before the dry season intensifies.
The authority said the immediate impact of this adjustment will be fairly limited. It estimates that less than 2 per cent of vessels will be directly affected by the new depth restriction, while the daily transit rate will remain unchanged at its current capacity of up to 38 crossings per day.
In 2023/24, El Niño forced the canal to significantly reduce daily transits for the first time in its history, causing severe disruption to global maritime trade. While high levels of rainfall last year and a wet start to 2026 have allowed reservoirs to be replenished, the looming shadow of El Niño has forced a return to water conservation protocols.
Since the end of last year, the canal has been implementing a range of measures, including the use of water reuse basins, the synchronisation of simultaneous lockages for small vessels, and the temporary suspension of hydroelectric generation at the Gatun Dam. The authority said it is confident that this early intervention will be enough to avoid more severe restrictions in the medium term.
