Panama Canal plans to boost transit capacity

The latest drought crisis is passing, but longer-term solutions are in motion, explains Panama Canal Authority Administrator Ricaurte Vasquez Morales

“Never let a crisis go to waste,” said Ricaurte Vasquez Morales, administrator of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), while discussing the waterway’s drought problems. The situation is now improving, with water levels rising again and more ships able to pass. But the ACP has learned a lot and gained valuable experience in dealing with low water levels, he told Petroleum Economist, explaining the new water management and operational methods will remain in place for the foreseeable future. The Panama Canal faces “environmental challenges”, rather than the “geopolitical” issues at other maritime chokepoints, particularly in the Mideast, Vasquez said. Specifically, the canal’s transit capacity has