Panama Canal to cut daily ship traffic as drought worsens from El Nino

The Panama Canal would limit daily vessel traffic from September 3, the Pnama Canal Authority said Thursday, as a severe drought fuelled by El Nino depletes water supplies needed to operate the vital trade route.

The restrictions will reduce crossings from 36 ships a day to 34, and then to 32 from September 15. Central America is in the throes of a severe drought driven by El Nino. The Panama Canal handles five percent of global maritime trade and around 40 percent of US container traffic.