Millions to pass: Demand raises prices for the Panama Canal as well

Some ships are willing to pay millions of dollars, on top of the transit fee, the administration notes.

One company has paid as much as four million dollars plus compensation because its fuel ship had to change its destination due to continued geopolitical tensions, said Canal Authority Director Ricaurte Vázquez Morales, who did not name her, according to a report by the Associated Press (AP) news agency.

“It was a ship that was transporting fuel to Europe, and they diverted it to Singapore because Singapore is running out of fuel,” AP quoted the head of the Panama Canal Authority as saying.

Other oil companies paid more than three million dollars, with a fee, to speed up the passage in anticipation of a jump in oil prices, notes the American news agency.

The ships have not formed a čep in front of the canal, Vásquez stressed, saying that the costs can be attributed to last-minute changes and the need for the ships to reach their destination as soon as possible due to the increasing chaos in trade.

Among the segments with the best results, the head of the canal administration pointed out container and liquefied petroleum gas transportation, noting that energy products play an increasingly important role in the total traffic through the canal.

The costs are not the universal market price for the passage of ships, but a temporary item taken over by companies, says the head of the Panama Canal Authority.

And the vice president of the finance department, Victor Vial, says that some ships have paid more than a million dollars in transit, but he called such amounts an exception rooted in a short-term jump in demand.

Most ships book transit in advance to avoid waiting, Vial reminded.

The channel offers several reservation models, including long-term dates and a special system for ships powered by liquefied natural gas, Reuters notes.

For those without prior reservation, there are also options ‘at the last minute’ and auctions, which offer between three and five dates every day.