The Panama Canal is currently demonstrating how expensive scarce transit capacity can become. Reuters reports an auction premium of over 5 million USD for a single transit slot of an LPG vessel.
The background is an unusual combination of limited canal capacity and additional energy traffic. Due to problems in the Middle East, more energy vessels are routing through alternative routes. At the same time, the Panama Canal has reduced its daily capacity due to weak rainfall.
Since September 15, nine Neopanamax and 23 Panamax slots per day are available. This represents a total of 32 regular transits.
For vessels without confirmed reservations, waiting times can occur. The Panama Canal Authority therefore explicitly recommends using the reservation system.