The rains have come to Central America, providing some good news for supply chain planners around the world.
Due to the return of the wet weather, the Panama Canal Authority has been able to postpone further draft restrictions which had been due to take place yesterday and on July 9. Further torrential downpours are forecast for much of this week.
Severe drought this year had seen Panamanian officials announce successive draft restrictions. The maximum authorised draft of 13.41 m for the neopanamax locks will now remain in place, while the panamax locks will be able to accommodate ships with drafts of up to 12.04 m. Both draft levels are already down by more than 1.5 m compared to their maximum levels after months of dry weather.
Pressure has been building at the canal throughout June with queues emerging on both sides of the waterway.
Neopanamax boxships have had to be waiting for around 10 days to transit the canal. Data from eeSea below shows all the containerships heading towards the Panama Canal.
