The congestion in the Panama Canal forces gas carriers to adopt non-standard transportation schemes, including ship-to-ship transfers and bypassing South America, Bloomberg reports.
According to Argus Media, the waiting time to pass through the canal has reached 19 days, the highest since 2022. Some operators are paying millions of dollars to skip the queue.
Near Balboa, the ship Energia Grandeur is transferring cargo to the tankers Eneos Wisdom. Traders say this scheme allows one of the vessels to periodically pass through the canal in a 'shuttle' mode and ensure LPG supplies to Asia. Both vessels are chartered by TotalEnergies SE.
Meanwhile, the supertanker Gas Scorpio has been forced to bypass South America to pick up cargo in the USA due to congestion in the Panama Canal. This route extends the transportation time by about a month.
The issue has been exacerbated by increased cargo flows due to the war with Iran and stricter canal restrictions because of El Niño.
