Ships Take Long Way Around as Drought Snarls Panama Canal

AI Summary

Drought-restricted capacity at the Panama Canal is diverting ships to the Strait of Magellan, where traffic rose more than 70% in both August and September compared with the same months last year. The shift highlights how water shortages are disrupting maritime routes.

Maritime traffic through the Strait of Magellan jumped more than 70% both in August and September from year-ago levels as ships diverted from the drought-stricken Panama Canal, Chilean Navy data requested by Bloomberg show.