As the Panama Canal continues to dry up, more and more ships too heavy to go through due to the lower water levels are being forced to add 32 more days and 10,000 more nautical miles to deliver their cargos to America or from America. The current situation has already caused shipping costs to increase, and that trend looks to continue until the current drought ends.
Fuel tankers face long slog as Panama Canal drought reroutes flows – Reuters – www.reuters.com
Excerpt:
HOUSTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) – Oil tanker Cururo is taking the long way from Houston to Chile: sailing the length of South America’s Atlantic coast, across the Strait of Magellan and heading up the Pacific coast before discharging.
The voyage could take 32 days and travel more than 10,000 nautical miles (18,520 km) before it ends next week, compared with about 23 days and less than 5,000 miles for a typical route through the Panama Canal.
The odyssey is shipping’s new reality due to a severe drought in Panama that is expected to shift trade flows and push up freight costs.