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, said Thursday. 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.

A liquefied petroleum gas tanker has paid a record R84.8 million for priority passage through the Panama Canal, ahead of transit restrictions linked to El Niño and severe drought.

The US-built canal's main users are the United States, China, Japan, Chile and South Korea.

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…