Video filmed by an airplane passenger capturing a “traffic jam” ships waiting to cross Panama Canal It went viral on social media this Saturday.

The difficulty of crossing the waterway is due to the dry season that the Central American country is experiencing.

The Panama Canal Authority notified carriers last Wednesday that restrictions will be extended until September 2 for ships passing through the inter-ocean route, keeping the number of permitted ships no more than 32 per day.

Channel restrictions introduced in recent months due to the rainy season in Panama came late this yearcould increase pressure on consumer prices, according to firms and maritime experts, as delays and surcharges add to clearance costs.

The Panama Canal is key to move consumer goods from Asia to the United States, especially before peak sales seasons such as Christmas. It also allows faster transportation of American raw materials to Asia and the Pacific coast of South America.

On Wednesday, a total of 131 boats lined up with and without armor According to official statistics, there are fewer ships to pass through the drought-affected waterway than the 161 ships reported a week ago.

The bottleneck relief comes after the Canal Authority opened more spaces to unbooked vessels last week.

Vessels may not exceed a maximum draft of 44 feet (13.41 meters) under current restrictions. The channel only allows 14 daily bookings. pass through old locks used by smaller ships and 10 passes per day through new, larger locks.

Ships arriving without a reservation only have access to the eight remaining passenger seats per day.

channel too keep the suspension of extraordinary auctions transit spaces at both gateways until September 2, the notice says.

Under normal circumstances, a total of about 36 ships a day can pass through the canal at this time of the year, but prolonged drought forced to limit the use of the canal navigation and locks.

Panama Canal occupies 40% of the market containers moving from Northeast Asia to the US East Coast. Container ships carry most of the tonnage of cargo passing through the waterways, followed by bulk carriers and tankers carrying oil, gas and chemicals. (rts)