Panama Canal may cut ship traffic further as El Niño strengthens

Canal authorities may further reduce ship traffic if a strengthening El Niño worsens the country’s drought.Published On 8 Sep 20268 Sep 2026Panama could impose further cuts on the number of ships sailing through the Panama Canal, an official said, as a strengthening El Niño raises fears of water shortages at one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes.The warning from the new administrator of the Panama Canal Authority, Ilya Espino de Marotta, on Monday came after the government declared a nationwide state of emergency over El Niño on August 26.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Strait of Hormuz: What has happened since the US-Iran MoU on June 17?list 2 of 4Panama’s Grand Canallist 3 of 4Can Iran enforce a restricted zone in the Strait of Hormuz?list 4 of 4How much oil is going through Hormuz? Why data doesn’t match US claimsend of listThe canal, which handles 5 percent of global maritime trade, has already reduced the maximum number of ships allowed through daily, from 36 last month to 34 starting on September 4.A further reduction will start on September 15, when the limit will be 32 ships.Espino, who took over as administrator of the Panama Canal Authority on Mon...