Authorities announced on Monday that there are indications of an improvement in the water levels, which will boost the number of ships permitted to pass through the drought-stricken Panama Canal each day.
Although the interoceanic passage is an important route for international freight to travel, officials have limited the amount of vessels that can use it due to low water levels caused by El Nino last year and climate change.
The Panama Canal Authority announced on Monday that it has notified customers that it will progressively permit up to 32 ships to pass through each day, as opposed to the 27 that was initially planned a month ago.
It had hosted 39 ships a day on average in 2022.
Canal administrator Ricaurte Vasquez told AFP, “The management and administration of water has been very efficient.”
The arrival of the rainy season was also expected to help, he added.
According to officials, the maximum draft (water depth) that ships can have when passing through the largest locks will increase from 13.41 meters (45 feet) to 13.71 meters (45 feet) in mid-June.
Rainwater collected in two artificial lakes is used by the century-old marine waterway, which typically carries six percent of the world’s maritime traffic.
A set of locks allows ships to be raised and lowered through the canal, which is mostly utilized by travelers from China, Japan, and the United States.
It releases 200 million liters of fresh water into the sea for every vessel that goes through it.
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