Panama Canal auction smashes vessel transit record as slot goes … – TradeWinds

Pressure mounts at drought-hit waterway as new record transit price dwarfs normal fee
Owners and charterers desperate to get their ships through a drought-hit Panama Canal have driven transit slot auction prices to a new record.
Fearnley Securities reported that on Monday, bidding for a crossing was concluded at a whopping $2.85m.
This compares with a normal booking fee of about $900,000 and beats the previous highest price of $2.6m from November last year.
An Asian charterer was linked to that bid.
Avance Gas chief executive Oystein Kalleklev told TradeWinds that the new record holder was a VLGC heading southbound.
Ships had been paying up to $2.4m so far in 2023.
The Panama Canal Authority, known as the ACP, offers one or two vacant crossing times through the neo-panamax locks to the highest bidder each day.
The auctions are generally won by LNG or LPG carriers.
TradeWinds had reported earlier this year that a new record fee was likely to be paid.
The situation could soon become more pressured after the ACP announced drastic cuts to daily crossing numbers as water levels continue to fall.
Normally, 36 vessels cross per day, but this has already been reduced to 32.
This number will fall to 25 and then 24 during November, to 22 in December, 20 in January and then to just 18 in February “until further notice”, according to a circular from the ACP.
Pareto Securities has already warned that VLGCs could be squeezed out as a result.
Rates for the big gas carriers continued their upward march this week, gaining ground for the 10th straight day.
Voyages from the Middle East Gulf to Asia were paying $119,000 per day, with $117,000 being achieved from Houston to Japan.
Record levels of above $170,000 were reported earlier this year.
Fearnley Securities said the VLGC fleet will be further stretched as transits are cut.
Waiting times typically peak in November. Last year, the month saw an average of 16 days of delays for VLGCs southbound and 20 days northbound.
TradeWinds is part of DN Media Group. To read more about DN Media Group, click here
TradeWinds is part of DN Media Group AS. From November 1st DN Media Group is responsible for controlling your data on TradeWinds.
We use your data to ensure you have a secure and enjoyable user experience when visiting our site. You can read more about how we handle your information in our privacy policy.
DN Media Group is the leading news provider in the shipping, seafood, and energy industries, with a number of English- and Norwegian-language news publications across a variety of sectors. Read more about DN Media Group here.
TradeWinds is part of NHST Global Publications AS and we are responsible for the data that you register with us, and the data we collect when you visit our websites. We use cookies in a variety of ways to improve your experience, such as keeping NHST websites reliable and secure, personalising content and ads and to analyse how our sites are being used. For more information and how to manage your privacy settings, please refer to our privacy and cookie policies.

source