Panama Canal sees spike in vessel traffic due to war in Middle East

​The Panama ‌Canal Authority, an ​autonomous agency that runs ‌the major freight channel through Central America, on Tuesday said the ‌U.S.-Iran war in the Middle ‌East should cause more shipments to travel through the canal.

"The expectation ⁠is ​that ⁠this will continue until the situation ⁠in the Middle East is ​resolved," the agency's finance chief ⁠Victor Vial said at a ⁠meeting, ​noting that since October the canal had registered ⁠some 300 vessels crossings compared with ⁠the ⁠same period last fiscal year.