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Market Chatter: Panama Canal Delays Push Gas Tankers Toward Longer Routes

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Growing congestion at the Panama Canal is pushing gas tankers toward rare routes around South America and potential shuttle trips through the waterway, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing traders.

Two supertankers recently transferred cargo ship-to-ship off Panama's Pacific coast, allowing one vessel to shuttle through the canal and keep LPG flowing to Asian customers. Wait times at the canal have reached 19 days, the longest since 2022, according to Argus Media, while some shippers are paying millions of dollars to jump the queue.

Traffic through the canal has increased amid the Iran war, while El Nino-driven drought has led authorities to reduce both vessel capacity and the number of daily crossings. Neopanamax vessels have faced the sharpest delays and higher rates, as they typically carry LPG from the US Gulf Coast to Asia, according to the report.

TotalEnergies (TTE) chartered the Panamax tanker transferring LPG to a Neopanamax vessel off Balboa after it reversed course en route to Japan, suggesting the charterer favored a Panama shuttle over a month-long Asia voyage, traders said. TotalEnergies and MOL Energia, the owner and manager of the Panamax tanker, did not immediately reply to' request for comment.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

Price: $86.63, Change: $+0.30, Percent Change: +0.35%

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