Panama Canal making major bid to win back lost LNG shipping business

The Panama Channel Authority aims to withdraw the energy trade lost through a new natural gas liquid pipeline project, which provides changes in the reservation system for LNG Tanker channel transitions and to carry natural and tanker companies along the critical global transportation network.

Panama Channel authority manager Hicer Vásquez says CNBC to the CNBC, a preferred reservation slot system for LNG carriers as a way to bring back more. The LNG preliminary reservation was removed during the drought years and has not returned to date.

“We will probably put this reservation window for the LNG ships that are probably valid next year,” Vásquez told CNBC. The Panama channel has moved to a long -term slot allocation approach, a reservation system that allows a full -year booking system, but adopted, “LNG was used very little this year.”

We renewed the product after talking to customers, and Panama channel authority plans to announce additional packages for LNG transitions that will provide flexibility to change the tanker type and transit dates.

“I think the transition to Panama Canal will be useful.” He said. “We have some packages that will be very specific and we have seen the transportation companies going for very special transitions.

The severe drought for years is costly to the Panama Canal. Due to low water levels, restrictions on vessel weights sent LNG tankers to other transportation paths and led to a decrease in LNG transitions reaching up to 73%throughout the channel. Even if the conditions are developed, LNG shipments did not return to previous levels, carriers continue to choose the longer route around Africa’s good hope package.

For LNG, the channel is also in the process of an ambitious pipeline project to release additional shipyards for LNG and creates what is called the interoicanic energy corridor. Instead of tankers carrying natural gas liquids, including ethane, butan and propanes along the channel, NGLs would pass through a 76 -kilometer pipeline connecting Atlantic and Pacific ports. Two maritime terminals would be built to host tankers. Approximately 2.5 million barrels of energy products can be transported from the pipeline per day.

On Thursday, channel officials met with approximately 30 companies from Asia, USA and South America and are interested in natural gas terminals and pipelines, Exxon Mobile– Phillips 66 And Shell.

Vásquez also said, “A very good reaction from the Asian market.” Itochu Corporation, Japan International Cooperation Bank, Mitsubishi, Movement Industries, Nippon Koei and Sumitomo participated. Tokyo is the number 1 for natural gas liquid shipments passing through the channel.

The selection process for the pipeline and the energy corridor continues and a tender foreseen for the second quarter of 2026.

The volume of freight is decreasing, Chinese politics comes into play

Channel is critical for the US economy and trade. The US is the largest user of the Panama Canal, a total US commodity export and import containers represent about 73% of Panama channel traffic, and 40% of all US container traffic passing through the Panama Canal every year. In total, approximately 270 billion dollars of cargo is discussed annually.

The plans to increase energy shipments come after a record -breaking container traffic at the beginning of 2025 due to the front of the trade war.

“We will not have container cargo compared to the volumes of usually that are usually at this time of the year and container cargo compared to other years,” this is what we see right now. ” He said.

The Panama Canal produces its revenues from wages associated with ship transitions and the volume of containers transported on each ship.

The maritime industry is approaching Chinese shipbuilding fees that change the trade flow by the US government as well as navigating a sea of ​​uncertainty with tariffs.

As of October 14, the US trade representative fees related to new regulations on Chinese -made ships calling US ports are entering into force. Chinese carriers such as Cosco and OoCl will pay additional fees to enter US ports, regardless of where they were built. Travels less than 2,000 maritime miles and exceptions will be made for ships with a capacity of 4,000 twenty meters equivalent unit (TEU).

Data and analyzes obtained from marine intelligence show early signs of an early decrease in the deployment of Chinese-made ships on the western coastal route of Asia-North America.

“The share of Chinese ships has fell to 20-25% in recent weeks in the last weeks,” the share of Chinese ships, “the share of Chinese ships.” He said. “Although similar, less pronounced, Asia-North America is a tendency in the east coast of America.”

Panama Channel Authority has an advanced reservation system in which ocean carriers may prefer to make future transitions. Based on the data obtained from this system, Vasquez tells CNBC that he has not seen any changes in reservations related to Chinese ships.

“What we see right now, essentially, all the ships passing around 12,000 to 13,000 on the Panama Canal … 1,000 will be built in China. So we don’t have this pressure on the market, because there are alternatives for non -Chinese ships to come from Panama channel. “We have not seen any decrease in COSCO or OOCL details, reservations and reservations.”

At the same time, a preliminary feasibility study for the Corozal Port is progressing to the contract stage with the expected results in the first quarter of 2026. The Corozal Port on the Pacific Ocean side of the country will be integrated into a land -based logistics platform connected to the road and rail. Maersk recently received privilege from CPKC and Lanco Group/Mi-Jack to operate the rail.

This port is part of a wider effort to resolve concerns about participation in the critical ports for channel operations of the channel.

The winners will build their port facilities and operate for 20 years.

“We haven’t made any decisions and probably we can’t comment at this moment, because we want to have the most obvious and competitive sensitivity of us,” we want to have the most clear and competitive sensitivity of us. “

Carl Bentzel, President of the National Waterfront Employers’ Association, including port and terminal business companies, including MSC, CMA, Maersk and SSA, said that CNBC depends on the confidentiality agreements and could not explain the names of the companies entering the proposal process. “But we can tell you, there is much interest in participating in the expansion of the channel area.” He said. “It is attractive to serve more than one trade lane in Panama and there is a lot of interest with the open competition,” he said.

Hutchison Ports, a unit of Hong Kong -based CK Hutchison, agreed to sell concession agreements in two ports on both sides of the channel, a consortium directed by US asset manager Blackrock and MSC.

Lately CK Hutchisson Securities Stock Exchange Filing“He had negotiations with the consortium members to invite the Group as an important member of the group, the group, to invite the largest strategic investor to participate in the consortium.”

Balboa Port (Pacific Coast) and Colon Port (Atlantic Coast) terminals have been ruled by concession by Hutchison ports since the 1990s, but in the early this year, Panama’s supervisory general, Anel Flores, the Supreme Court was renewed in 2021 years.

No decision was made from Panama’s Supreme Court.