{"text":[[{"start":11,"text":"Charges for the busiest shipping lanes in the Panama Canal have hit a record high as Asian buyers desperate for oil and gas scramble global shipping routes upended by the Iran war. "}],[{"start":21.75,"text":"Daily auctions for transit lanes in the waterway have attracted five times as many bids compared to pre-conflict levels, with prices for the most commonly used Panamax locks in the canal averaging $837,500, according to data compiled by Argus Media."}],[{"start":38.65,"text":"The Iran war has created one of the largest energy supply shocks in history, decimating production across the Gulf and throttling supply to refiners in Asia. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted global shipping and energy markets, resulting in an increase in cargo diversions and rising freight costs."}],[{"start":57.4,"text":"Ross Griffith, head of Americas freight pricing at Argus, said: “About 70 per cent of vessels that transit the Panama Canal use the original Panamax locks, which have seen auction prices jump almost 10-fold since the Iran war began and closure of the Strait of Hormuz.”"}],[{"start":74.7,"text":"“This is a very significant increase that reflects how Asian buyers are scrambling to source oil, fuel and dry bulk commodities, such as coal, mainly from the US Gulf Coast.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":"
"}],[{"start":85.85000000000001,"text":"The surge in US oil and fuel shipments through the canal, which is the shortest route between the Gulf Coast and Asia, has caused wait times for crude tankers seeking to transit the Panamanian waterway to grow to 4.25 days, a six-week high, according to data research group Kpler."}],[{"start":104.60000000000001,"text":"That has prompted some companies to pay huge amounts of money to skip lengthy queues forming at the entrance to the canal, with individual auctions for the largest locks hitting $4mn in April, according to Argus."}],[{"start":117.35000000000001,"text":"Big vessel owners that frequently utilise the Panama Canal, such as large container ships and liquefied petroleum gas companies, typically pre-book slots at set rates usually well below average auction prices rather than compete for slots in the daily auctions. But as much as 30 per cent of canal traffic overall can compete in the daily auctions rather than by pre-booking slots. "}],[{"start":139.25,"text":"The Panama Canal Authority told the FT the recent auction results reflected market shifts and were not the result of a fee increase. "}],[{"start":147.25,"text":"“The Panama Canal is currently operating in a highly reliable and predictable manner, even amid global trade volatility and geopolitical tensions,” it said."}],[{"start":158.7,"text":"Experts said plentiful US supply was driving the increased traffic."}],[{"start":163.6,"text":"“With this particular disruption in the strait, there’s just not enough supply on the water,” said Kenneth Medlock, senior director of the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University in Houston. "}],[{"start":174.65,"text":"While the US is well supplied with oil and refined petroleum products, “it just means that the Asian market will drive the price up”, he added."}],[{"start":184.05,"text":"Competition for US cargoes has risen significantly since before the war, said Qasim Afghan, an analyst at market analytics platform Spark Commodities tracking arbitrage opportunities of moving liquefied natural gas tankers from the US to Europe and Asia."}],[{"start":199.8,"text":"“This is a strong signal for cargo diversions,” he said, speaking of the competition between Europe and Asia for crude and refined products."}],[{"start":209.15,"text":"“While the majority of US vessels have gone to Asia through the Cape of Good Hope, it is much more profitable to go through the Panama Canal,” Afghan said."}],[{"start":217.95000000000002,"text":"Since the start of the war in late February, 29 tankers carrying diesel, LNG and jet fuel have diverted from their routes, with the majority going to Asia, according to Kpler. "}],[{"start":229.50000000000003,"text":"Andres Rojas, an LNG analyst at S&P Global, said: “Right now we are seeing an uptick in Atlantic Basin supply being rerouted to Asian markets as prices in the Pacific Basin firm up relative to Europe.”"}],[{"start":250.20000000000002,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1776904933_8523.mp3"}