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Drought, auctioned slots and higher tolls cited as strains on Panama Canal service and U.S. shippers
Summary
Federal Maritime Commission officials and industry witnesses told a Senate committee that 2023 drought-related restrictions, draft limits and auctioning of transit slots reduced capacity and raised costs; witnesses described a drop in allowed daily transits and cited sharp increases in canal revenue from auctioned fees.
Federal Maritime Commission officials and shipping industry leaders told a Senate Commerce Committee hearing that drought-driven draft restrictions and a practice of auctioning transit slots contributed to reduced canal capacity and higher shipping costs for U.S. importers and exporters.
"Prolonged drought conditions last year forced operational changes, reducing transit slots, restricting vessel types, and auctioning of slots," Commissioner Daniel Maffei said, describing how the canal employed draft restrictions and reduced the number of ships allowed to transit per day. Joe Kramick, president and CEO of the World Shipping…
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