With the Strait of Hormuz choked by war, the Panama Canal reaps the benefits | CNN

With fuel and freight prices skyrocketing as war chokes the Strait of Hormuz, the Panama Canal is seeing more business than usual. The canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at a narrow point between North and South America, is receiving a “slight increase” in vessels, according to the Panama Canal’s deputy administrator, Ilya Espino de Marotta. “The latest thing we’ve seen is an increase — a slight increase in the number of transits,” Espino de Marotta explained in a statement to CNN. “Let’s remember that now, with higher fuel prices, the Panama Canal definitely becomes a more attractive route because it’s shorter.” At roughly 50 miles long, the Panama Canal is less than half the length of the 120-mile Suez Canal in Egypt. Espino de Marotta added that, thanks to an unusually moist dry season this year, “we’ve been able to accommodate 40 to 41 daily transits, compared to the normal 36.” The extra transits are especially notable considering the extreme drought that Panama experienced during the El Niño weather phenomenon in 2023 and 2024. The Panama Canal is essentially a water elevator, moving ships up and down through its locks by contro