The Panama Canal is responsible for the stagnation of global seaborne trade.
There are reports that the Panama Canal, an important trade route, is drying up.
So, what is the reason why the Panama Canal is drying up?
The Panama Canal is an 82-kilometer-long man-made canal that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Unlike the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal relies heavily on artificial lakes.
The recent reduction in rainfall in the region has put greater or lesser pressure on global maritime trade.
The Panama Canal shortened the voyage of ships between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and its achievements exceeded the imagination of its designers.
According to 1934 estimates, the maximum throughput of the canal was expected to be about 80 million tons per year.
However, as of 2015, the canal's traffic has risen to 340.8 million tons.
The earliest proposal for the Panama Canal dates back to 1534, and many proposals were drafted in the following years, but none of them were ultimately adopted.
The reason for the non-adoption was that both the Americans and the Spaniards wanted to build the canal.
Beginning in 1826, the United States began discussing the desire to build a canal with Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama.
However, these negotiations failed.
It wasn't until the United States took control of the canal property that construction of the canal began.
The Panama Canal was opened in 1914, and from 1914 to 1979 the canal was completely controlled by the United States.
In 1979, control of the canal was handed over to the Panama Canal Commission.
On 31 December 1999, control of the Panama Canal was fully transferred to Panama.
Due to the ongoing drought and lack of rainfall, the Panama Canal is likely to become a historical monument due to its loss of function.
The drought has forced some ships to choose to take another long route, and for those who still choose to sail the Panama Canal, they may have to wait in line for days or weeks because the water level is too low to limit the number of boats.
The cost of these vessels from various countries is rising, and it comes at a time when the global economy is facing inflation.
In 2023, the number of vessels restricted to traffic in the Panama Canal dropped sharply from an average of 36 or 38 per day to about 18 per day.
At the same time, the authorities lowered the draft, which is the position of the ships in the water, which meant that some ships had to reduce their cargo.
The Panama Canal Authority has begun charging shipping companies an additional fee to auction off the vessel's space once a booked vessel is cancelled for up to $4 million.
It is not surprising that most of the ships willing to pay extra are carrying petroleum products, since petroleum products dominate canal transportation.
If the Panama Canal ends up unusable, it could lead to another global recession.
At the same time, the disruption of the operation of the Panama Canal will also have a great impact on the national economy of Panama.
In addition, this problem can lead to higher shipping costs and increased greenhouse gas emissions.
To address this problem, Panama's canal board of directors recommended the construction of new reservoirs to increase the Panama Canal's water supply.
The prolonged disruption of the Panama Canal will force countries such as Mexico and Colombia to build land routes.
While this may seem like a good solution, the cost is prohibitively high, and by the time the road network is built, global maritime trade will suffer enormously.
It is clear that if the problems of the Panama Canal are not solved, this artificial canal will become a thing of the past.