Latin America

Judi Lynn

(162,336 posts) Sun Sep 3, 2023, 07:09 AM Sep 2023

One ship in Panama Canal paid $2.4 million to skip the line

The high payment was in addition to a standard transit fee of around $400,000

Published: September 03, 2023 00:16
Bloomberg

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Image Credit: AP

Shippers are paying up to $2.4 million per vessel if they want to beat a logjam of carriers waiting to sail through the drought-affected Panama Canal, according to one company active in the market.

The high payment - in addition to a standard transit fee of around $400,000 - was made recently by one unnamed party in order to get a slot allowing its carrier to transit the waterway more quickly, shipping company Avance Gas Holding Ltd. said in its earnings report this week.

The Panama Canal Authority, which holds auctions for those wishing to queue jump, said in an email Thursday that the fees haven't reached a new high this year, without providing further details. The authority said the highest bids are typically won by carriers transporting liquefied petroleum gas or liquefied natural gas.

. . .

"You can skip the queue but it's immensely costly," Oystein Kalleklev, Avance Gas's chief executive officer, said in an earnings call. "It's gone rapidly up. When you add the regular fee you're getting close to $3 million to get your ships through."

More:
https://gulfnews.com/business/markets/one-ship-in-panama-canal-paid-24-million-to-skip-the-line-1.1693685857466

4 replies

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One ship in Panama Canal paid $2.4 million to skip the line (Original Post) Judi Lynn Sep 2023 OP

Kinda like American politics,... magicarpet Sep 2023 #1

It doesn't matter to the gas companies. If it cost them and extra $.10 per gallon, they simply Chainfire Sep 2023 #2

24,000 containers fit on a cargo ship IbogaProject Sep 2023 #3

Best "containment vessels" Duppers Sep 2023 #4

magicarpet

(16,281 posts)

1. Kinda like American politics,...

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Sun Sep 3, 2023, 07:59 AM

Sep 2023

.... the fatter your wallet,.. the quicker your access for a political solution to your problems.

Pay to play,.. laissez-faire capitalism branding of Democracy.

It used to be called bribery of the political system,... now it is called legal lobbying to get your way.

Capturing Democracy to your benefits with your excessive financial resources to gain access and get it done. Becomes Democracy only for the rich and well to do fat cats. The rest of the population languishes by the wayside because they can't afford the entry fees to join in the game or access the fast track preferential treatments.

Chainfire

(17,757 posts)

2. It doesn't matter to the gas companies. If it cost them and extra $.10 per gallon, they simply

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Sun Sep 3, 2023, 09:32 AM

Sep 2023

raise the price by $.20... They don't have to be competitive.

IbogaProject

(3,594 posts)

3. 24,000 containers fit on a cargo ship

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Sun Sep 3, 2023, 02:15 PM

Sep 2023

So that doesn't add too much per transit. And oil can be 200,000 to 500,000 barrels, which is ten or more millions of gallons. So the above estimate of +$0.10 per gallon might not be far off. Whew what a world. I still remember arguing with a physics professor in a "Science and Social Science of Energy" class about whether burning fuel would add up, when the CO2 levels were already well above 300ppm by 1988. He was conservative and very pro nuclear. I'm scared of the waste that will surely outlast current containment vessels, and to even try to store in materials that will last long enough extra cost is needed that no one wants to pay.

Duppers

(28,243 posts)

4. Best "containment vessels"

Reply to IbogaProject (Reply #3)

Mon Sep 4, 2023, 02:14 AM

Sep 2023

Are DEEP underground.

(My PhD physicist son is pro-nuclear but he is very liberal & has 40 IQ pts on me, so I don't attempt to argue with him. )

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