Daily transits could fall from 32 to 29.

Scarce transit slots go to whichever shipper pays the highest fee.

Each transit drains about 200 million litres from reservoirs that also supply half of Panama’s drinking water.

Administrator Ilya Espino de Marotta says further cuts may come by February or March.

How each outlet framed it

drawn from 70+ reports worldwide

South China Morning Post
connects El Niño-driven canal capacity cuts (36→32 ships daily) with traffic shift from Iran-blocked Hormuz, reshaping global chokepoints

Sources: South China Morning Post