An empty LPG supertanker, the G. Arete, paid a record $4.6 million at auction to bypass the Panama Canal queue next week, sailing from the Pacific toward the Caribbean side. The vessel is owned by South Korea's SK Shipping Co., which did not comment on the fee, and the Panama Canal Authority declined to discuss the transaction citing customer confidentiality.
The bid surpasses the previous record of $4.2 million set earlier this year and the $4 million paid this week for a container vessel. The Canal Authority said median auction prices have roughly tripled from about $55,000 in October 2025 and February 2026. Neopanamax vessels without booked slots now wait up to 11 days for Pacific-to-Atlantic transit, the longest since May, as Iran-war rerouting pushes more traffic through the waterway.
Context
It comes after the $4 million queue-jump payment for the Seaspan Benefactor on August 11 and against the fourth and fifth draft reductions this year announced August 6.
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