Tankers undercut grain ships in Panama Canal: queues have increased significantly

Stop exporting from The Persian Gulf led to a sharp increase in purchases of American oil by Asian refineries and huge queues in The Panama Canal. Tanker owners allow themselves to buy priority passage along the route, which increases the delay time for vessels with less expensive cargoes.

"The volume of American oil supplies through the Panama Canal has approached a four—year high, as Asian refineries rush to import American oil instead of supplies from the Middle East," writes Bloomberg.

The agency cites Kpler data that in the first half of April, American oil exports through the Panama Canal — the shortest route between the Gulf coast and Asia — exceeded 200 thousand barrels per day, which is close to the maximum since July 2022.

"Increasing the waiting time to log in The Panama Canal forces oil shippers to pay more than $ 3 million to pass without a queue. For some hydrocarbon by—products, such as liquefied petroleum gas, bypassing the queue is even more expensive," writes Bloomberg.

According to agency sources, two companies transporting crude oil paid $3.1 million and $3 million this week for passage through the channel. The AFP news agency, in turn, reports that $4 million was paid for the passage of the LNG tanker.

For those who do not pay for the passage, the waiting time has increased significantly. Louise Follis of the Clarksons consulting agency told The Financial Times that this has led to a situation where ships carrying lower-value cargo, such as grain, are facing increasing transportation costs and delays, and the waiting time in the channel reaches 40 days, as oil tanker operators pay millions of dollars to slip into the front of the queue..