Panama Canal cuts Neopanamax draft and daily transit slots

Started

2026-07-01 (July 2026)

Ended

Not ended

Status

ongoing

Type

Drought restriction

Severity

3 Significant

Scope

chokepoint

Chokepoints

Panama Canal

Ports

None

Lanes

None

Countries

Panama

Confidence

high: Four dated canal authority notices agree on the draft and slot steps. The exact start is uncertain: press put the first cut at 2026-07-01 while the advisory read gives 2026-07-24 for its first step, so the start is recorded to the month. PortWatch transit counts fell only about 10 percent, so the measured effect is small.

First reported

2026-06-05 (5 June 2026)

• Severity basis: Any restriction at a chokepoint: the Panama Canal Authority lowered the maximum Neopanamax draft in steps from July 2026 and cut daily lock slots from 2026-09-03.

1. 2026-06-05Press reports the canal has announced a precautionary reduction in Neopanamax draft, a step it had said in mid-May it did not expect to need. [s5]
2. 2026-07-01Advisory A-22-2026 sets the maximum Neopanamax draft at 14.94 metres from 2026-07-24 and 14.78 metres from 2026-08-15. [s1]
3. 2026-08-05The canal announces further draft steps to 14.63 metres and 14.48 metres and says they do not change the number of daily transits. [s2]
4. 2026-08-20An advisory cuts daily Neopanamax slots to nine from 2026-09-03 and Panamax slots to 25, then 23 from 2026-09-15. [s3]
5. 2026-09-04The canal postpones the 14.48 metre step and keeps the 14.63 metre limit. [s4]

No corrections to this record as of 2026-09-20 (20 September 2026).

1. [s1] Panama Canal Authority, Advisory to Shipping A-22-2026: Draft adjustment in the Neopanamax Locks, published 2026-07-01 (1 July 2026), accessed 2026-09-20. Archived copy. (official)
2. [s2] Panama Canal Authority, Panama Canal Announces New Draft Adjustments for Neopanamax Locks, published 2026-08-05 (5 August 2026), accessed 2026-09-20. Archived copy. (official)
3. [s3] Panama Canal Authority, Panama Canal Adopts Additional Measures to Address Reduced Precipitation in the Canal Watershed, published 2026-08-20 (20 August 2026), accessed 2026-09-20. Archived copy. (official)
4. [s4] Panama Canal Authority, Panama Canal Postpones Neopanamax Draft Adjustment, published 2026-09-04 (4 September 2026), accessed 2026-09-20. Archived copy. (official)
5. [s5] The Maritime Executive, Panama Canal Preemptively Lowers Draft Levels Due to El Nino Forecast, published 2026-06-05 (5 June 2026), accessed 2026-09-20. Archived copy. (press)
6. [s6] IMF PortWatch, Daily chokepoint transit calls, Panama Canal, accessed 2026-09-20. (data)

The address of this record is permanent and a correction is always logged on this page, so a citation names the version you read. Add the date you accessed it.

Plain text

World Freight Monitor. "Panama Canal cuts Neopanamax draft and daily transit slots." Last updated 2026-09-20 (20 September 2026). https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2026/panama-canal-draft-and-slot-cuts-2026/

APA

World Freight Monitor. (2026). Panama Canal cuts Neopanamax draft and daily transit slots. World Freight Monitor. https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2026/panama-canal-draft-and-slot-cuts-2026/

BibTeX

@misc{wfm_panama_canal_draft_and_slot_cuts_2026,
  author = {{World Freight Monitor}},
  title = {Panama Canal cuts Neopanamax draft and daily transit slots},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Last updated 2026-09-20},
  url = {https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2026/panama-canal-draft-and-slot-cuts-2026/}
}