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Panama Canal’s $5.3m Slot Auction: Who Pays—and Why?

Neopanamax operators face a new booking system as drought cuts daily transits to nine from September 3.

Weihong Nguyen
FP editor, expert in Africa and Asian ports
2 Sep 2026 · 11:53 · hace 7 días
6 min read · PANAMA
Fotografía — Weihong Nguyen / InfoPuertos
— Las claves
$5.3 million bid sets new record for a Panama Canal transit slot, topping August’s $4.6m high.
63 Neopanamax slots offered weekly, but daily transits fall to nine from September 3.
Operators can now book multiple slots per day and swap vessels, but median auction price hit $55,000 last winter.
Gatun reservoir forecast to drop to 82.6 feet by October, forcing further water-saving cuts.

The authority also permits vessel swaps and substitutions, including for ships under alliances or vessel-sharing agreements, while maintaining a weekly cap of 63 Neopanamax reservation slots. These adjustments come as the canal reduces daily transits to nine for Neopanamax locks from September 3, with a further cut to 23 daily slots for Panamax locks scheduled for September 15. The Panama Canal Authority, a government agency under the Panamanian government, manages one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints. container traffic, the canal’s operational decisions ripple across supply chains, energy markets,…

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auction records lpg carriers neopanamax Panama Canal shipping drought

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Your FP

  1. My account Saved stories, newsletters and alerts
  2. Maritime AI The engine behind our analysis
FP Live

Market data

  1. Port ranking China leads · 2026Q03 2,416
  2. Chokepoints Korea Strait busiest +51.6%
  3. Disruptions red alerts active 2
  4. Ports live Shanghai tops calls 393
  5. Stocks 38 of 54 higher +0.40%

Updated 15:16 Data via CAMAL AI

PORTS EXCLUSIVA 02/09/2026 FPPLUS

Panama Canal’s $5.3m Slot Auction: Who Pays—and Why?

Neopanamax operators face a new booking system as drought cuts daily transits to nine from September 3.

Weihong Nguyen
FP editor, expert in Africa and Asian ports 2 Sep 2026 · 11:53 · hace 7 días
6 min read PANAMA
ACTUALIZADO 02/09/2026 · 15:21
Panama Canal

(FP) · Fotografía: Andrés Gutiérrez para InfoPuertos

The authority also permits vessel swaps and substitutions, including for ships under alliances or vessel-sharing agreements, while maintaining a weekly cap of 63 Neopanamax reservation slots. These adjustments come as the canal reduces daily transits to nine for Neopanamax locks from September 3, with a further cut to 23 daily slots for Panamax locks scheduled for September 15. The Panama Canal Authority, a government agency under the Panamanian government, manages one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints. container traffic, the canal’s operational decisions ripple across supply chains, energy markets,…

FP Plus

Keep reading with your free Financial Ports account

This story is part of FP Plus, the exclusive supplement of Financial Ports. Creating an account is free — and it unlocks CAMAL AI too.

Create free account I already have an account

No cost, no card required. You can delete your account whenever you like.

CAMAL AI
Maritime artificial intelligence Go deeper with:

Sign up free to ask CAMAL AI for a summary, the key points or anything else about this story.

Sign up free I already have an account

Related stories

CAMAL AI CAMAL AI
Panama seizes $191.7m oil corridor to bypass its own canal Aryan Kumar Suez Canal Traffic Rebounds as Shippers Ditch Cape of Good Hope FP $5.3m Canal Bid Shatters Record as Drought Chokes Panama Trade FP
Financial Ports Newsletter Financial Ports Newsletter The maritime economy, every morning Ports, shipping and freight markets in one short email. Free.
Temas del artículo
auction records lpg carriers neopanamax Panama Canal shipping drought
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