A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas paid a record $5.3 million for priority passage through the Panama Canal, as the canal authority rolled out a fresh schedule of draft restrictions driven by an El Nino-linked drought. Permitted draft is being cut in stages — from 40 feet in July, to 48 feet from August 26, and down to 47.5 feet from September 3 — as rainfall across the watershed between May and August came in roughly 34% below average, marking only the second time in the canal’s history that daily transit numbers have been restricted.
To manage the reduced capacity, the authority is overhauling its transit-slot auction system, dividing daily capacity into four cargo categories — gas carriers, dry bulk vessels, container ships and car carriers, and tankers — so operators can bid for guaranteed passage. The squeeze has hit LNG carriers particularly hard: a voyage from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Asian buyers takes about 26 days via Panama versus 44 days around the Cape of Good Hope, yet many owners are keeping vessels on the longer Cape route rather than risk further disruption, while operators of tankers, bulkers and large container ships weigh partial loading or diversions via Suez as alternatives.
Source: Euronews — https://www.euronews.com/2026/08/28/tanker-pays-record-53m-to-transit-panama-canal-amid-el-nino-drought
Tags: Panama Canal, Drought, LPG Tanker
