Panama Canal slot reaches $5.3 million — OilPrice
In Panama, the auction fee for a slot to transit the Panama Canal reached a record $5.3 million amid growing demand for energy transportation routes. According to OilPrice, South Korean company SK Gas paid this amount in late August to secure a vessel's passage on September 1, according to Bloomberg sources familiar with the matter. This auction fee is charged in addition to the standard transit toll.
Queues and transit restrictions
The publication reports that in August, the average rate at daily slot auctions exceeded $1 million, 16 times more than a year earlier. The Panama Canal Authority stated that the results of the latest auctions reflect significantly higher demand. Before the war in Iran began in February, the median auction price was about $55,000.
According to Argus Media data cited by OilPrice, vessels without a pre-booked slot wait 17 days to transit the canal, compared with two days in February. The number of Panama Canal transits was limited to 34 vessels from September 4 and to 32 from September 15. The article cites reduced rainfall in the canal's watershed due to Super El Niño as the reason.
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Pressure on the tanker market
According to OilPrice's assessment, shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as threats to transportation in the southern Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, have increased flows of crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas cargoes through the Panama and Suez canals. Additional demand is linked to growing exports of energy cargoes from the United States and seasonal container traffic between Asia and the U.S. East Coast.
OilPrice also notes that the daily charter rate for a tanker recently exceeded $1 million for the first time due to a limited number of available vessels ready to transport oil and fuel. Shipbroker Fearnleys said in its weekly report that access to physical volumes of oil is now more important for oil refining companies than freight costs.
