The near-record $4 million auction fee was paid on Monday by the owner of the container ship Seaspan Benefactor, according to people familiar with the matter; the figure is more than double the previous seven-day average. The Panama Canal Authority confirmed auction costs have risen on shifts in global trade supply and demand, with some bids exceeding $1 million, but declined to comment on this transaction.
Neopanamax vessels carrying LPG, LNG, crude and refined products now wait 10 days for Pacific-to-Atlantic transit, the longest since May, per Argus Media. Congestion is compounded by Iran-war rerouting away from the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, maintenance outages at Neopanamax locks lasting into September, and a reduced draft limit amid El Niño-driven low rainfall.
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This is the same $4 million queue-jump previously reported, now attributed to the Seaspan Benefactor's owner with added wait-time and draft-cut detail.
