November 29, 2023 – A bottleneck at the Panama Canal due to low water levels has prompted shippers to divert to the Suez Canal, the Cape of Good Hope or even through the Strait of Magellan off the tip of South America. The Panama Canal Authority, which normally handles about 36 ships a day, announced on October 30 that it will gradually reduce the number of vessels to 18 a day by February 1 to conserve water heading into the dry season. Panama had the driest October on record due to a drought caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon, the authority said.