Panama Cuts Canal Traffic as Water Levels Drop

2024-01-26 16:59:00来源：网络

Panama Cuts Canal Traffic as Water Levels Drop

水位下降，巴拿马运河航运量减少

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　　By Bryan Lynn

　　21 January 2024

　　Officials have ordered restrictions on shipping traffic in the Panama Canal because of reduced water levels.

　　The latest restrictions limit ship crossings through the canal by 36 percent. The Panama Canal is one of the world's busiest waterways, linking the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

　　Canal officials have estimated reduced water levels could cost them between $500 million and $700 million in 2024, The Associated Press reports. The losses are linked to tolls shipping companies must pay to pass through the Panama Canal.

　　The Central American nation is experiencing drought, or extremely dry weather. The climate condition can slow traffic and reduce safety in the 80-kilometer canal.

　　Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vásquez said the new restrictions reduce daily ship crossings to 24. The latest cut followed additional reductions last year. There were 38 crossings a day in normal times last year.

　　Vásquez told the AP, "It's vital that the country sends a message that we're going to take this on and find a solution to this water problem." He added that in the first quarter of the fiscal year, the waterway saw a 20 percent reduction in goods and 791 fewer ships than during the same period the year before.

　　Vásquez said the reductions were part of necessary control measures to make sure water levels remain high enough to permit at least 24 ships to pass daily. Officials are hoping the situation will improve in April, when the new rainy season starts.

　　Weather experts blame the drought on climate change and the weather system called El Nino. El Nino is a warming of surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean. This event usually causes hot, dry weather in Asia and Australia and can drive weather changes in other parts of the world.

　　Vásquez warned that Panama must seek new water sources for both the canal's operations and drinking water. The same lakes that fill the canal also produce water for more than half of the country's 4 million people.

　　"The water problem is a national problem, not just of the canal," Vásquez said. "We have to address this issue across the entire country."

　　However, Vásquez told Reuters news agency he expects the waterway to meet its latest earnings targets, in part because of recent increases in tolls.

　　I'm Bryan Lynn.

　　The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者：Bryan Lynn

　　2024年1月21日

　　由于水位下降，官方已经对巴拿马运河的航运交通进行了限制。

　　最新的限制将运河的船只通行量减少了36%。巴拿马运河是世界上最繁忙的水路之一，连接了太平洋和大西洋。

　　据美联社报道，运河官员估计，2024年由于水位下降可能会造成他们在500万到7亿美元之间的损失。这些损失与航运公司必须支付的通过巴拿马运河的通行费有关。

　　这个中美洲国家正在经历干旱，或者说极度干燥的天气。这种气候条件可能会减缓运河中的航运交通，并降低这条80公里运河的安全性。

　　巴拿马运河管理员Ricaurte Vásquez表示，新的限制将每日船只通行量减少到24艘。这次的削减是继去年进一步减少之后的最新一轮。去年正常时期每天有38艘船通过。

　　Vásquez对美联社表示，“至关重要的是，我们的国家要发出一个信息，我们将应对这个问题，并找到解决这个水问题的办法。”他补充说，在财政年度的第一季度，这条水道的货物减少了20%，比去年同期少了791艘船。

　　Vásquez表示，这些减少是必要的控制措施的一部分，以确保水位保持在足够高的水平，至少允许每天有24艘船通过。官员们希望情况将在四月份改善，那时新的雨季将开始。