Panama Canal Wait Times Reach 21 Days, Cause Shift in Routes

Wait times at the Panama Canal have continued to rise to 21 days as of 8 August, up from 18 days on 4 August, causing clean tanker owners to avoid going through the canal and shift routes to the Atlantic Basin according to S&P Commodity Insights.

• Dry season has caused wait times to increase sharply amid draft restrictions and a reduced number of transit allotments.
• The Panama Canal Authority said on 4 August that from 8 August the number of ships able to be prebooked to transit the Panamax locks will be reduced to 14, with the condition remaining in effect until 21 August. This is down from 23 slots previously according to CNBC.
• The most recent draft restrictions, announced June 22, put the maximum authorized draft for the Neopanamax locks at 44 feet and 39.5 feet for the Panamax locks. Under normal conditions, the maximum draft authorized for the Neopanamax locks is up to 50 feet and up to 39.5 feet for the Panamax locks.
• Northbound transit wait rimes have risen to 20-21 days while southbound transit wait times have reached 18-21 days according to shipbroker and shipowner sources.
• Multiple shipbrokers indicated that shipowners may be willing to take slight discounts on rates from the US Gulf to Brazil or Europe in order to avoid the canal.
• "Owners right now are looking at the path of least resistance, so they'll prefer to go elsewhere," a shipowner said.
• The year-on-year increment between June and July US Gulf Coast clean petroleum products exports to West Coast South America has slowed by 82%. Exports in July 2023 totaled 2,298,999 mt, a 12% decrease from exports seen in July 2022, S&P data showed.