By Nick Lung.    Photo : Rikin Katyal 

The drought problem in the Panama Canal has escalated again, and a ship has paid a US$4 million "guzzling fee". Another ship simply refused to let it pass and was forced to sail around Cape Horn on the South American continent, which required an extra 10,000 nautical miles. As we all know, due to the ongoing drought in the Panama Canal, the Panama Canal Authority continues to reduce the number of ships scheduled to pass through the Panama Canal locks every day. In order to be able to pass as quickly as possible, some ships without reservations have to bid for the quota to cross the river, and the amount paid is getting higher and higher.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) stated in a customer briefing that starting from November 1, the daily scheduled ship traffic will be further reduced to 31 ships (9 ships in the new locks, 9 ships in the traditional locks) from the 32 ships that have been previously reduced. 22 Panamax locks). A stepwise reduction model will then be carried out, further reducing it to only 25 ships per day on November 3, then further reducing it to 24 ships per day on November 7, and then reducing it to 22 ships per day on December 1, starting on January 1. The traffic volume will be reduced to 20 ships per day, and will be revised down to only 18 ships per day starting from February 1.

Panama's reservation quotas are generally given to container ships with fixed sailing schedules, while dry bulk cargoes, oil tankers, and LNG and LPG carriers operating with variable voyages are more difficult to obtain reservation quotas. In addition to booking, the Panama Canal may also release one or two river crossing quotas for bidding every day, and those ships that have not been able to book a river crossing quota in advance but are eager to cross the river will have to bid to obtain the quota. River opportunities. The total voyage from Panama City anchorage to Houston via Cape Horn is nearly 11,800 nautical miles. Directly from the Gulf of Mexico to Houston via the Panama Canal, it only takes about 1,500 nautical miles. This means that the current voyage of Pyxis Pioneer will need to sail more than 10,000 nautical miles to circumnavigate the entire South American continent. According to the current speed of the ship of about 15 knots, this means that the entire circumnavigation of the ship takes about 28 days.

The latest market analysis report stated that the drought crisis in the Panama Canal may cause the freight rates of dry bulk ships to surge, especially those that need to take longer routes to reach China.

Analysts at the agency pointed out that longer voyages are consuming capacity in the market, which has caused freight rates to rise by as much as 5.6%. Most dry bulk ships carrying US cargoes in this size category are now using the Suez Canal, avoiding the Panama Canal. . This will add about 10 days to the trip and the canal tolls are slightly more expensive.

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