The Panama Canal has set a new single-trip toll record, a milestone that comes amid looming traffic restrictions and mounting global pressure on energy supplies.

Canal officials confirmed that South Korea's SK Gas Ltd. (018670.SK) bid $5.3 million for an auctioned transit slot on the Panama Canal for the liquefied petroleum gas carrier G. Spirit on Sept. 1 — the highest reported price ever paid for passage through the waterway linking the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

The winning bid secured a northbound crossing scheduled for Sept. 1, apparently to move the vessel toward the Houston Ship Channel, where it will load LPG for delivery to East Asia, according to published reports. The route matters commercially because the Panama Canal is the shortest passage for U.S. Gulf Coast LPG exports bound for Asian buyers, the largest destination group for American propane and butane shipments; the main alternatives — the Suez Canal or a voyage around the Cape of Good Hope — add substantial distance and time for very large gas carriers.

Bloomberg first reported the $5.3 million figure, citing people familiar with the confidential auction. Panama Canal officials subsequently confirmed to AFP that a record amount had been paid or committed, though the authority did not identify the customer or disclose the price.

The premium reflects the value of avoiding a long delay during an unusually tight LPG shipping window. Ships arriving without reservations have recently faced waits of up to 11 days, and the average northbound wait over the preceding 28 days had exceeded 10 days.

The canal authority had previously announced El Nino-related drought restrictions, cutting capacity to 34 daily transits in early September and 32 later in the month, with Neopanamax capacity reduced to nine slots per day. The reductions are part of a recurring pattern: the canal depends on Gatun Lake freshwater levels, and prior El Nino-driven droughts, most notably in 2023–2024, forced similar capacity cuts that backed up global shipping and raised freight costs.

At the same time, the Iran war has disrupted energy-trade patterns and increased the urgency of moving LPG between the U.S. Gulf and Asia. The U.S. and Tehran traded strikes on Sunday after a month-long lull in hostilities.

The bid dwarfs the median auction price of roughly $55,000 recorded between October 2025 and February 2026. It also topped the previous record of $4.6 million, which was likewise paid for an LPG carrier operated by SK Shipping, Maritime Executive reported. That the record has been set twice in quick succession by LPG carriers underscores how concentrated the demand for guaranteed slots has become among gas shippers, who face charter schedules and cargo commitments that leave little room for multi-day queueing.

The authority's tariff schedule separates regular tolls and maritime services from auctioned booking slots. For a Neopanamax LPG carrier, the published schedule includes a $300,000 fixed transit component, a capacity charge of $2.75 per cubic meter, and a $100,000 regular reservation fee; the auction slot is listed separately as "best offer."

Once ordinary tolls, tugs, freshwater and other charges are included, the all-in cost will exceed $5.3 million. Whether such premiums persist will depend on how the canal's scheduled capacity cuts, waiting times, and broader energy-trade disruptions develop over the coming months.