One ship in Panama Canal paid $2.4 million to skip the line [View all]

The high payment was in addition to a standard transit fee of around $400,000

Published: September 03, 2023 00:16
Bloomberg



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Shippers are paying up to $2.4 million per vessel if they want to beat a logjam of carriers waiting to sail through the drought-affected Panama Canal, according to one company active in the market.

The high payment - in addition to a standard transit fee of around $400,000 - was made recently by one unnamed party in order to get a slot allowing its carrier to transit the waterway more quickly, shipping company Avance Gas Holding Ltd. said in its earnings report this week.

The Panama Canal Authority, which holds auctions for those wishing to queue jump, said in an email Thursday that the fees haven't reached a new high this year, without providing further details. The authority said the highest bids are typically won by carriers transporting liquefied petroleum gas or liquefied natural gas.

. . .

"You can skip the queue but it's immensely costly," Oystein Kalleklev, Avance Gas's chief executive officer, said in an earnings call. "It's gone rapidly up. When you add the regular fee you're getting close to $3 million to get your ships through."

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https://gulfnews.com/business/markets/one-ship-in-panama-canal-paid-24-million-to-skip-the-line-1.1693685857466