LatinNews Daily - 17 August 2026

*New maximum draft limits for vessels transiting the Panama Canal’s Neopanamax locks have taken effect to ensure the “safe, reliable, and sustainable operation of the Canal under current hydrological conditions and considering the potential development of an El Niño [weather] phenomenon over the watershed in the coming months”, according to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP). On 1 July ACP announced that it was reducing the maximum authorised draft for vessels transiting the Neopanamax locks to 48.5 feet (14.78 metres) as of 15 August, down from 49.0 feet as of 24 July. The ACP has since announced that as of 26 August, the maximum authorised draft for vessels transiting the Neopanamax locks would be 48.0 feet while as of 3 September and “until further notice”, this would further drop to 47.5 feet in response to the possible impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon.