Trade
One Ship in Panama Canal Paid $2.4 Million to Skip the Line
Cargo ships wait in the anchor zone to cross the Panama Canal from the Pacific entrance near Panama City, Panama, on Sept. 1.
Photographer: Walter Hurtado/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
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.