The $1.6 billion plan to fix the Panama Canal's drought problem
CNBCยท2025-09-20 15:00
The Panama Canal is one of the world's most vital shipping routes. About 14,000 vessels transit the waterway annually, including about 40% of all US container traffic. But recent droughts have plagued the artery.A drought in 2023 and 2024 forced the canal's operator, the Panama Canal Authority, to enact weight restrictions and limit vessel transits to 18 ships per day. About 36 ships cross the canal daily. The drought was Panama's worst in over 70 years.But how does a 50-mi long waterway connected by two oc ...