File:Anchored vessels queueing off the Panama Canal.jpg

English: The Panama Canal is an essential waterway, in particular for freighters carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States of America to markets in Asia (currently the largest consumers of LNG). Ships seeking passage through the canal must either book a time slot on which to cross, or spontaneously cross when no other bookings have been made. Due to an increase in maritime traffic and time-consuming COVID-19 safety procedures, vessels wanting to cross in October and November of this year with no booking have had to wait for days to pass through, which has forced some shipping companies to find alternative routes. The waiting time, estimated to be between 10 and 15 days, has contributed to the cost of chartering LNG tankers to rise rapidly and disrupted the LNG supply chain. This image, acquired on 20 November 2020 by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites, shows 60+ vessels anchored off the Panama Canal’s Pacific entrance, waiting to cross over to the Atlantic. The combined use of data provided by the satellites of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 missions provides essential information for maritime surveillance.