Auction for your queue spot at the Panama Canal: Vessel waiting times at the Panama Canal have increased some 44%-59% in Augustamid restrictions on daily transits and ship drafts caused by prolonged drought, Reuters reports. The restrictions have been causing bottlenecks at both ends of the canal, increasing freight tariffs and causing vessels to divert to avoid delivery delays. The long queue has found shippers paying up to USD 2.4 mn per vessel to beat the logjam of carriers, Bloomberg quotes Avance Gas Holding as saying. This payment comes in addition to the standard transit fee of some USD 400k for carriers to get a slot to transit through the waterway. The canal authority is also holding auctions for those who wish to jump ahead of the backlog, with carriers transporting liquified petroleum gas or natural gas coming out as the highest bidders, Bloomberg writes, though the authority denies that the fees have reached a new high this year.

Ship recycling numbers are down 14% so far this year despite negligible declines in scrap prices, Hellenic Shipping News reported, citing Xclusiv Shipbrokers data. Tanker, bulk, container, and gas vessels scrapped as of 18 August came in at 129 ships, representing the lowest figure in at least five years, the report said. Most of the decline is attributable to fewer vessels in the tanker segment being sold for scrap, while demolitions of container and bulk vessels are up, as declining freight rates push owners to scrap older vessels, the report explained.

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