With 52 cancellations, the Panama Canal suffers the world crisis of COVID-19



The Panama Canal has so far reported 52 cancellations of transits, 35 of them cruises, due to the global coronavirus crisis, the impact of which on the business cannot yet be predicted, the highway administrator, Ricaurte Vásquez, said on Friday.

"In general terms, the world economy is going to be much slower, international trade is going to decrease and obviously international traffic through the Panama Canal must be negatively affected. So far, that's the logic. How much exactly (will the impact be) .. It is what remains to be determined, because there are many "involved" factors that make it unpredictable, "said Vásquez.

The Panama Canal, through which about 6% of world trade passes, has the US as its main users. and China and connects more than 1,700 ports in 160 countries.

The budget of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) for fiscal year 2020, approved before the coronavirus crisis, foresees revenues of $ 3,426.1 million, and a contribution to the Panamanian treasury of $ 1,824.1 million.

In a virtual press conference, the administrator of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) specified that 52 transits have been canceled so far: 35 cruises and 17 other vessels, especially containers, which is the leading segment of the business.

Thursday there were 32 transits and until last night there were in line waiting to pass 66 ships, which represents "a number of arrivals of between 25 ships, which is the lowest day of the week, at 36, which is the highest."

"We have not received in full force what will be the reduction" of transits, said the administrator, who clarified that this will depend on the operation in the ports on the east coast of the United States and the apparent recovery of production in Asia, especially in China.

Thus, it would be "at the end of April" when "there would be a volume of traffic that would respond to these circumstances," said Vásquez.

"We are a link in a chain of origin-destination. The situations in origin (Asia) seem to be normalizing. The situations in the US are not entirely clear to us," said Vásquez, who stressed that so far they do not see "a major change "in trade routes.

THE OPERATION IS MAINTAINED WITH CRITICAL PERSONNEL

The Panama Canal operates "for at least the next 14 days with a workforce of approximately 3,600 people, who are critical personnel and that directly have to do with the transit of ships, plus all the support part within the organization" Vasquez said.

In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, which has Panama in indefinite mandatory total quarantine, the ACP this week ordered non-critical staff vacations for 15 days, while "until two days ago" they had "220 in voluntary isolation "and 69-70 others in mandatory confinement because they have had contact with infected people.

So far, seven workers of the Panama Canal have tested positive for the new coronavirus, added the administrator.

"We have to serve the ships that request transit and we continue to see that day by day", this crisis is "very different from any other we have seen (...) so we are generating knowledge as we go along and we will continue working on so that we can be allocating resources safely, complying with sanitary regulations to be able to serve customers, "said Vásquez.

A CRUISE WITH PASSENGERS IS IN QUARANTINE

"The MS Zaandam is in quarantine," Vásquez reported regarding the Holland America Line company cruise ship that sails through the Pacific bound for Florida (USA) with all its passengers isolated due to an outbreak of the alleged flu.

The Panamanian Ministry of Health "did not give permission (...) for health reasons" to the cruise to transit the Canal, which "keeps it in the quarantine area," added Vásquez, who clarified that the health authorities "do not they have reported that there is a confirmed case of COVID-19 "on board.

The MS Zaandam is a Dutch-flagged ship that must carry between "1,200 and 1,300 passengers, plus another 600-650 crew," said Vasquez.

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