Panama Canal is a Pinch Point for US Energy Shipments

The continuing drought in Panama has caused the Panama Canal Authority to restrict traffic to smaller and smaller vessels. The critical variable is the draft of the ship. The water in Gatun Lake which feeds the locks is getting shallower with the drought. Traffic is down to 60 % of capacity at present and is expected to drop to 45 % by early next year.

The most affected US traffic are those going between the Gulf of Mexico and Asia-Pacific ports. This has also intensified the bidding war for smaller tankers able to make the Panama Canal transit, increasing transportation rates and lengthening shipping times.

Some companies are opting to send their ships through the more expensive Suez Canal. This adds 10 days to a voyage in some cases.

This transportation bottleneck is also negatively affecting US liquified petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas liquids (NGL). According to the US Energy Information Agency (USEIA), Asia accounts for 53.8 % of US gas liquids shipments abroad this year at 2.6 million barrels per day. Compounding the problem, vessels carrying gas liquids have lower priority than larger vessels paying larger tolls. Ships can bid to cut in line but the prices are steep, up to $2.5 million for an LNG tanker and $100k to $500k for medium sized tankers.