Chicago – March 23, 2026
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.”
