Panama Canal Launches ‘Special Auctions’ For Ships Stuck In Queues

• The Panama Canal Authority (ACP), one of the world's main maritime trade routes, announced on Friday it is launching a special auction slot on Saturday at a base price was $55,000, as it battles a severe drought that has forced it to reduce daily ship crossings.
• "The purpose of this measure is to provide a greater opportunity of obtaining a slot for vessels in the Panamax Locks that have been waiting in the transit queue for an extended period," the canal's authority said in a statement.
• The Authority said it will add extra slots, allowing ships to pay big premiums to transit the waterway, which has become congested due to an ongoing drought.
• The special auctions allow vessels that have been waiting for a long time to pay a one-off fee — at times recently reaching several million dollars — in order to transit the canal. Only vessels that have been waiting for 10 days or more will be eligible to participate, according to an advisory.
• In a communiqué to the shipping lines, the ACP informed that the auction would be announced three days before the transit date and would be held two days before, as was the case last Saturday.
• Following the first bid, a chemical tanker was awarded the special slot last Monday for $1,100,100.
• The Canal Authority added that spaces (slots) that become available during the reserve period may be offered through extraordinary auctions, depending on several factors, including the water level of Gatun Lake. Full container vessels that have already obtained a reservation space before the auctions are called will also be considered. The charges derived from these auctions will be additional to the usual tolls paid for crossing.

 (Sources: Reuters & Port News)