Panama Canal Authority raises daily Neopanamax transits to 10 starting Oct. 15

The Panama Canal Authority will increase daily Neopanamax lock transits to 10 beginning Oct. 15, lifting total daily capacity across the Neopanamax and Panamax locks to 33 slots. It also restored the maximum authorized draft for Neopanamax vessels to 49 feet, letting ships carry more cargo through the canal.

Before the change, the Authority had cut daily transit capacity to as few as 32 ships in mid-September and imposed draft limits as Gatun Lake fell during a prolonged water shortage. The new allocation brings combined Neopanamax and Panamax lock capacity to 33 slots per day, the highest level since the drought‑related restrictions began. A 10,000‑TEU containership loses about 450 TEUs of capacity for each foot of draft restriction, so the deeper draft can recover hundreds of slots of cargo per vessel.

Earlier in the year, the Authority reduced daily transit capacity and imposed draft limits after a prolonged water shortage lowered Gatun Lake, the principal reservoir supplying the locks. Near‑average rainfall and water‑conservation measures at the locks have since allowed the Authority to ease those restrictions.

What we know

• The Panama Canal Authority will increase the number of daily Neopanamax-lock transits to 10 beginning Oct. 15, lifting total daily capacity across the Neopanamax and Panamax locks to 33 slots as water conditions improve, the authority said Tuesday.

• The authority also said, effective immediately, it has restored the maximum authorized draft for Neopanamax vessels to 49 feet.

• The prior cuts reduced total daily capacity to as few as 32 ships in mid-September.

• A 10,000-TEU containership can lose roughly 450 TEUs of carrying capacity for every foot of draft restriction, according to one industry estimate.