Tanker pays record $5.3 million to transit Panama Canal
A ship transits the Pedro Miguel Locks of the Panama Canal. (AP photo)
A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas has paid $5.3 million for priority passage through the Panama Canal ahead of El Nino-related restrictions, the waterway's deputy administrator, Ilya Espino de Marotta, has told AFP.
South Korean company SK Gas paid the record sum for the G. Spirit to transit the shipping lane on Sept. 1, two days before canal authorities reduce the number of transits due to the El Nino weather phenomenon, Bloomberg reported.
Panama this week became the latest Central American country to declare an emergency over El Nino, which has caused dwindling water levels in the canal due to a severe drought across the region.
