Kathmandu. The US-Iran tension continues. The price of crude oil has once again crossed $ 105 per barrel.
Meanwhile, US sanctions on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s assertiveness are exacerbating the oil and gas crisis. In the midst of this global tension, Panama, a small country, is enjoying its luck and its government is taking advantage.
Panama is very important for global trade. With the closure of Hormuz, the Panama Canal has become the most expensive sea route.
Due to the blockade of Hormuz, oil and gas ships are now choosing the Panama Canal as their transit route, and traffic on this route has reached an extreme. The competition to cross is so intense that an auction is being held to secure the ship. The value of which is about 40 million dollars. As a result, this small country is important for global trade.
According to reports, about 20 percent of the world’s oil consumption comes from Hormuz, and traffic through it has been disrupted due to the US-Iran war. As tensions between the US and Iran escalate, hopes for reopening appear bleak. As a result, shipping companies are increasingly focusing on alternative routes, and the Panama Canal has emerged as the most important sea route. Ship traffic through the Panama Canal has suddenly increased.
The situation there is such that the waiting list for the ships to cross has become long and the auction process has also been implemented. Panama Canal uses an auction system for last-minute slots. In which the highest bidder gets the first pass. Crossing the canal is usually booked through reservations at flat rates, and companies without reservations can pay more through auctions.
In order to cross the Panama Canal quickly, companies do not hesitate to bid up to $4 million for a single vessel. The cost of canal transportation is usually between $300,000 and $400,000, but the cost of priority access is now significantly higher. Previously, the cost of fast-track slots ranged from $250,000 to $300,000. However, now this additional cost has reached $425,000 or more. Significantly, this amount is different from the regular toll fee.
The Panama Canal Authority has said that the closure of Hormuz due to the Iran war has significantly altered global trade flows. In recent weeks, demand for slots in the Panama Canal has skyrocketed, and auction prices have peaked. Commercial vessels are increasingly transiting the Panama Canal. They are carrying goods purchased from other countries or diverted from Iran’s coast to avoid waterways.
According to analyst Rodrigo Noriega, transportation companies are claiming that it is safe to transit through the Panama Canal amid bombings, missiles and drone attacks. But all of this is affecting global supply chains. Noriega, a lawyer in Panama, also said that the Panama government is trying to extract as much revenue as possible from the Panama Canal. -Agency
