20-Year Drought Threatens Global Shipping Thoroughfare, The Panama Canal

PANAMA CITY, PANAMA - SEPTEMBER 23: Vehicle carrier Sirius Leader passes through the Miraflores locks while transiting the Panama Canal on September 23, 2023 in Panama City, Panama. The Panama Canal Authority is continuing to restrict the number of vessels that pass through the Panama Canal locks as drought has caused water levels at Gatun Lake to drop. The locks depend on millions of gallons of fresh water from the manmade lake to fill locks in Panama City and Colon in order to transit shipping vessels from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea. Over 100 ships are waiting to transit the canal and the backup could delay goods heading to the United States for the holiday season. It takes an average of 8-10 hours for a ship to transit the 50 miles through the canal versus several weeks to travel thousands of miles around Cape Horn and the southernmost parts of South America. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)