PANAMA CITY, April 16 (Reuters) - The Panama Canal Authority on Thursday downplayed a report that an LPG vessel paid $4 million to jump the transit queue, saying the result reflected temporary market conditions rather than a fee set by the waterway, as the Iran war drives more traffic to the canal.
"The recent outcome of an auction awarded to an LPG vessel reflects temporary market shifts and is not the result of a rate set by the Panama Canal," the authority said in a statement, without confirming
how much was paid out in the auction.
It said auction values are driven by factors including customers' urgency, commercial priorities, freight rates, bunker prices and broader global supply-and-demand conditions.
The authority added that auctions are only one of several mechanisms available to secure a transit slot and are used mainly by customers seeking last-minute certainty.
The statement followed a Bloomberg News report on Thursday that one vessel had paid $4 million in a recent auction to secure faster passage as congestion worsened along the waterway.
Traffic through the canal has increased as the Iran war disrupts trade flows and forces buyers to seek alternative supplies, boosting shipments from the United States to Asia and elsewhere.
The Canal Authority said it was continuing to operate reliably despite volatility in global trade and geopolitical tensions.
The authority also said its wait-time data can overstate actual delays because the system counts ships that arrive before their reserved transit window as waiting, even if they arrive early.
As of Thursday, 102 vessels had reservations to transit the canal, while 25 were waiting without booked slots.
In the first half of fiscal 2026, the canal recorded 6,288 oceangoing vessel transits, up 3.7% from a year earlier, the authority said. Daily averages reached 34 vessels in January and 37 in March, with peak days exceeding 40 transits.
(Reporting by Elida Moreno; Editing by Kylie Madry)
