After a prolonged period of drought that drastically reduced the daily number of transits and the size of ships, the Panama Canal is returning to normalcy ahead of schedule. This is indicated by two measures from the Authority that manages it. The first, effective May 30, 2024, increases the maximum authorized draft to 45 feet, explaining that "this adjustment, originally scheduled to take effect on June 15, will be implemented earlier due to the anticipated onset of the rainy season in the Panama Canal watershed and the current and forecasted levels of Gatun Lake in the coming weeks." The second measure, effective June 1, increases the number of daily transits through the Neopanamax locks from seven to eight. This adjustment raises the total number of daily transits to thirty-two. Already on May 16, this number had increased from 17 to 24.
