Now, a massive flotilla of ships is currently stuck in the world's worst traffic jam at the Panama Canal — and the end of this new watery pile-up could be at least a few weeks away.

The Panama Canal Authority said it will add extra slots allowing ships to pay big premiums to transit the waterway, which has become congested due to an ongoing drought.

The Panama Canal fills its locks using fresh water from Gatun Lake, which is also Panama City’s source of water. Each ship transit requires about 50 million gallons, only some of which is recovered.

A flotilla of ships are stuck on both sides of the Panama Canal, waiting for weeks to cross after the waterway’s authorities cut transits to conserve water amid a serious drought.

A cargo ship navigates through the Panama Canal in the area of the Cocoli Locks, in Panama City, Aug. 25, 2023. Ivan Pisarenko/AFP via Getty Images, FILE RIVERS: Sure.

Major Traffic Jam At Drought-Hit Panama Canal, Over 200 Ships Stuck Panama Canal is a vital trade route, accounting for 40 per cent of all US container traffic.

More than 200 ships are stuck in the Panama Canal due to a record drought in the region. ... The Panama Canal saw more than 14,200 ships pass through it in 2022—the highest number since 2014, ...

More than 35 years have passed since the U.S. invaded Panama to oust the dictator Manuel Noriega, but threats by President ...

A stuck ship in the Suez Canal cost the global economy up to $10 billion in one week. And it could have been much more. It was a disaster waiting to happen, and it could easily happen again — in ...

The problems at the Panama Canal, an engineering marvel that opened in 1914 and handles an estimated 5 percent of seaborne trade, is the latest example of how crucial parts of global supply chains ...

For over 40 years, Capt. Efraín Hallax, 73, has been steering vessels through the canal, and he has seen it all, from a dictator’s fall to the rise of U.S. interest in retaking the waterway.