According to the Panama Canal Authority, businesses have spent up to 4 million USD for ships to pass through the Panama Canal, amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Passing through the Panama Canal usually has a fixed fee through reservations, but companies that do not pre-book can pass through by paying additional fees.
This booking fee has skyrocketed in recent weeks as Iran and the US blockaded the Strait of Hormuz.
With all bombings, missiles, drones... companies believe that crossing the Panama Canal is safer and less costly. All of this is affecting the global supply chain," said lawyer and analyst Rodrigo Noriega in Panama City.
Meanwhile, Mr. Noriega said that the Panamanian government is "maximizing profits from the Panama Canal".
The average price to pass through the canal ranges from 300,000 - 400,000 USD depending on the type of ship. Previously, to pass through earlier, businesses would have to pay an additional 250,000 - 300,000 USD. In recent weeks, the average additional cost has increased to about 425,000 USD.
Canal operator Ricaurte Vásquez revealed that another company had to pay an additional 4 million USD when its fuel tanker had to change its destination due to ongoing geopolitical tensions.
“It was a ship carrying fuel to Europe and they diverted the ship to Singapore,” he said.
Other oil companies have paid more than 3 million USD in addition to the toll through the Panama Canal to speed up transportation due to the soaring oil prices.
Mr. Vásquez said that ships are not congested in the canal, but the cost increase is due to last-minute changes and the urgency of ships needing to move from point to point faster.
He emphasized that this cost is not a general market price, but a temporary fee that companies have to bear.
On April 22, the Panamanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Iran of illegally seizing a Panamanian-flagged ship owned by the Italian company MSC Francesca in the Strait of Hormuz.
Panama, the country with one of the largest ship registration systems in the world, said the ship was "coercively seized" by Iran.
This is a serious attack on maritime security and an unnecessary escalation at a time when the international community is calling for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz," the statement stated.
Analyst Noriega said that the amount of money companies have to pay to travel through the Panama Canal may increase further if the conflict continues, in the context of volatile oil prices. The price of one barrel of Brent crude oil jumped to over 107 USD this week, a sharp increase from about 66 USD per barrel a year ago.
No one really anticipates the potential impacts that conflict will cause on global trade," Mr. Noriega said.
