[Edaily Reporter Kim Kyeo-Re ] Panama Canal tolls have risen 16-fold in just one year, reaching an all-time high. This surge is due to a combination of factors: water levels dropping amid a prolonged heat wave, which has limited traffic, and a surge in U.S. crude oil demand caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the conflict between Iran and the United States.

The UK’s Financial Times (FT) recently reported that auction prices for transit slots through the Panama Canal’s main locks averaged approximately $1.1 million (about 1.55 billion won), reaching 16 times the average price of the previous year.
Prices for Panama Canal transit permits have been on a steady upward trend as demand for crude oil and petroleum products along the U.S. Gulf Coast has surged following the outbreak of the Iran war. Traffic in the Red Sea has also decreased due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz—a key chokepoint through which one-fifth of the world’s crude oil shipments pass—and escalating tensions between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia.
Furthermore, the El Niño phenomenon—which has intensified since June, causing severe drought and rising winter temperatures—has lowered water levels in the Panama Canal, limiting the volume of traffic that can pass through and driving up transit fees. The water level in Lake Gatún—the artificial lake that supplies water to the Panama Canal—is currently below the average for the period from 1965 to 2022. El Niño is expected to continue intensifying through December, and water levels in the Panama Canal are projected to drop further over the coming months.
As of the 3rd, approximately 113 ships were waiting to transit the Panama Canal via advance reservations or daily auctions, a significant increase from the 40 ships waiting on January 2, before the outbreak of the Iran conflict.
According to Bloomberg, the owner of the container ship “SisPan Benefactor” paid $4 million (approximately 5.66 billion won) in an auction held that day to skip the Panama Canal waiting line and move up in the transit queue. This amount is more than double the average price over the past week. The vessel is reported to have traveled via South Korea on its way to the Panama Canal.
For large Neo-Panamax-class vessels carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, and refined petroleum products, the wait to transit the Panama Canal from the Pacific to the Atlantic is 10 days. According to Argus, a commodities data analytics firm, the average price for using the locks capable of accommodating large vessels has reached $2.5 million (approximately 3.5 billion), setting a record high.
Ross Griffiths, Argus’s head of Americas cargo, said, “Water levels in the Panama Canal are steadily dropping due to El Niño,” adding, “Normally, water levels don’t drop this much from May through December. This is not a normal situation.”