Americas News
Fire Temporarily Halts Panama Canal Lock Traffic
Friday December 16, 2022
Traffic through one of the Panama Canal's sets of locks was temporarily halted on Thursday after a fire broke out.
Vessel traffic at the Miraflores locks was temporarily suspended after a fire, news agency Reuters reported, citing comments from the canal authority.
No injuries were reported.
The Miraflores locks are one of a set of three at the canal, usually taking only smaller vessels, Reuters said.
Thursday's blockage looks set to pass without any wider impact on the shipping industry, but problems at key chokepoints like Panama can cause widespread problems. The blocking of the Suez Canal by the container ship Ever Given for six days in March 2021 had an impact on container shipping that took months to be fully resolved.
