Panama Canal
قناة بنما
Tension score and event line
Available on Analyst and above
What it is
A lock canal linking the Atlantic to the Pacific across Panama. It runs on fresh water from Gatun Lake, so the lake level caps both the number of transits and the permitted draught.
What transits it
النصف الأول من ٢٠٢٥ · إدارة معلومات الطاقة الأمريكية (EIA)source
Why it moves price
The route for US Gulf Coast LNG and refined products heading to Asia. It is the one chokepoint constrained by weather rather than politics: drought lowers the lake, transits are cut, and cargoes reroute the long way around South America or via Suez.
Is there a bypass
Around Cape Horn, or eastward via Suez — both adding weeks.
Tension is measured daily, not described
We track thirteen chokepoints and terminals, publish a daily tension score with its components and the reasoning behind each, and tie it to the prices that move with it.