If there is a lot of demand, paying millions can help you get through more quickly.Image: AP
April 17, 2026, 12:28 p.mApril 17, 2026, 12:28 p.m
The Iran war and its influence on trade routes are currently causing increasing numbers of people at the Panama Canal. Many Asian countries that normally source their crude oil, gas and other raw materials from the Persian Gulf are increasingly turning to the United States as an alternative source of supply.
Fast passage without a reservation can cost millions
This means that the waiting time at the entrance to the Panama Canal is currently around three and a half days, as the US news portal Bloomberg reports. This is the longest waiting time since the drought in Panama in 2023. The low water level at the time ensured that fewer ships could pass through the route at once, which resulted in long waiting times in front of the canal.
A source who wished to remain anonymous told Bloomberg that a liquid natural gas tanker owned by a Chinese shipping company paid $4 million in an auction by the canal authorities to avoid the current queue. As early as March, in the first weeks of the Iran war, shipping companies paid up to an additional $1 million to avoid long waiting times.
Auction amount is not a set fee
The operators of the Panama Canal do not want to confirm the figures mentioned when asked, but they make it clear that this is not a set fee for the passage. Rather, the auction reflects the temporary shifts in the global transport market.
The auction value, i.e. the amount that ships pay additionally in order to be able to pass through more quickly, results from factors such as fuel prices, the urgency of delivery for the customer or the global supply and demand situation. However, if you don’t want to wait in line at all, you can simply register early and reserve a spot through, the canal authorities wrote in response to Bloomberg’s request.
It is not the first time that this highly lucrative practice for channel operators has been used. Already during the aforementioned 2023 drought, time slots to pass the canal more quickly were auctioned for $2.4 million, as the news magazine Business Insider reported at the time. (July)