News / Panama Canal draught restrictions start to bite, sparking liner surcharges

Evergreen’s latest addition to its neo-panamax fleet had to offload 1,400 containers to pass through the Panama Canal, due to low-water restrictions.

The event starkly highlights the problems the vital waterway and its users are facing.

The Ever Max, capable of carrying 17,312 teu and delivered to Evergreen in June, had to offload the boxes before it could enter the canal’s neo-panamax locks. They had to be moved by rail across the isthmus for pick-up at the Atlantic end of the waterway.

The ...