Panama Canal tanker pays record $5.3mn, official says

A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas paid a record $5.3 million for priority passage through the Panama Canal, the waterway's deputy administrator Ilya Espino de Marotta told AFP on August 27.

Bloomberg reported that South Korean company SK Gas paid the sum for the G. Spirit to transit the canal on September 1. The passage is scheduled two days before canal authorities reduce daily transits because of the El Nino weather phenomenon.

Panama declared an emergency over El Nino on August 25 after a severe regional drought lowered canal water levels. El Nino raises surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and can change winds and rainfall patterns.

Ships book Panama Canal passages in advance. Vessels without bookings wait an average of five days, but last-minute transits can be bought through an auction.

The Panama Canal Authority said average auction prices between October 2025 and February 2026 were about $55,000. In April, a vessel carrying liquefied natural gas paid $4 million to avoid waiting to pass through the canal.

The canal, which handles five percent of global maritime trade, is due to cut daily transits from 36 to 34 from September 3, and to 32 later in the month.