By Diego Vargas • June 6, 2026 • Latin America
PANAMA CITY — The Panama Canal Authority declared a state of emergency Saturday, warning that water levels at the crucial interoceanic waterway have fallen to their lowest in 150 years of records, forcing unprecedented transit restrictions and threatening global shipping lanes that move $500 billion in cargo annually.
Gatun Lake, the artificial reservoir that feeds the canal’s lock system, stood at 25.1 meters above sea level Friday — nearly 3 meters below the historical average for June and below the critical threshold of 25.8 meters that triggers automatic draft reductions for vessels. Some ships have been forced to offload cargo onto barges before entering the locks.
The crisis is driven by a combination of factors: the worst regional drought in a century, deforestation in the canal watershed, and rising temperatures linked to El Niño conditions in the eastern Pacific. Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vásquez said the authority was “exhausting every available option” but could not rule out temporary suspension of transit operations.
Major shipping firms including Maersk, CMA CGM and Evergreen have already begun rerouting vessels around Cape Horn — adding 14 days and approximately $1 million in additional fuel costs per voyage. US Customs data shows that 40% of US containerized imports from Asia transit the canal.
The Canal Authority is expected to issue an updated advisory Sunday. The US State Department has urged commercial shipping firms to monitor the Panama Canal Authority website for real-time transit schedules.
Written by Diego Vargas