Panama Canal plan shows steep toll rise
Panama Canal tolls are to increase by an average of 10% a year until 2009, under the new rate plan announced on Friday by the canal authority (ACP). Toll hikes will be slightly above that average for container ships, tankers and cruise ships, while the lowest increases (at around 9% a year) are being set for dry bulkers and refrigerated cargo carriers. ACP director of marketing and planning Rodolfo Sabonge told Fairplay the estimates are that transit charges for the container sector (not including the previously announced increase for 2007) will grow at around 12% a year until the end of 2009. “The impact will be different for each type of vessel and above all, for each size of vessel,” he explained, since the highest rate is calculated for the first 10,000 tonnes, with a lower rate for the following 10,000 tonnes, and an even lower price for the remaining tonnage. When the canal expansion plan was first made public in 2006, users were informed that tolls could double from their current level by 2025, at an average rate of 3.5% per year. If that earlier statement is correct – and given the 10% a year increases – it appears toll hikes are being front-loaded.
