The number of ship transits through the Panama canal fell by 29% last year compared to the previous year due to drought, the authority managing the infrastructure said Tuesday. The canal is facing a shortage of rainwater needed to transfer ships through locks that function like water elevators. VIDEOGRAPHIC
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00:00The 80 km long Panama Canal links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
00:13It takes 6% of world maritime trade or 14,000 ships per year.
00:20Drought driven by the El Niño phenomenon and climate change is currently disrupting
00:25its operations.
00:29During its construction in 1914, two huge artificial lakes were created by flooding
00:34mountain zones situated between the two oceans.
00:39They are fed by a river and rain.
00:43The locks are situated at each end of the lakes.
00:47The locks of the canal use fresh water to raise and lower the boats according to the
00:51principle of communicating vessels.
00:55They discharge part of the water into the sea.
00:58If the level in the lakes is low, it becomes more difficult for the locks to raise the
01:02boats.
01:07The new locks, added in 2016, were designed to discharge less fresh water into the ocean.
01:15They have three levels with each one having three recovery pools.
01:20During the transit of a boat, the water from the lakes flows down into the lower pools
01:25where 60% of the water is reused.
01:29Despite this, each transit of a boat still uses 200 million litres of fresh water.