[Affected by the situation in the Middle East, the Panama Canal’s annual cargo volume hits a record high] October 21st, the Panama Canal Authority said on the 20th that due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the war in the Middle East, the Panama Canal’s cargo volume hit a record high in the last fiscal year. The agency said that during the fiscal year from October 2025 to September 2026, nearly 14,000 ships transported cargo through the Panama Canal, with cargo volume reaching 521 million tons. The previous record for canal cargo volume was 518 million tons in fiscal year 2022. The Panama Canal handles approximately 5% of global maritime trade. Ilia Espino, director of the Panama Canal Authority, said that after navigation in the Strait of Hormuz was blocked, the number of ships passing through the Panama Canal increased significantly. The canal once increased its daily traffic from 36 to 41 ships. However, the canal had reduced daily traffic to 32 vessels earlier this month due to drought caused by insufficient rainfall. (Xinhua News Agency)