Was looking for the costs to transit the P. Canal and stumbled onto this. At one point there is speculation that once widened the transit for an LNG tanker could be as high as $1 million. Lots of what-ifs. In addition to China's focus on S America apparently some Africa countries, like Angola, are starting to cast their eyes west as they once did towards the EU in the north.
http://www.icis.com/heren/articles/2012 ... -2013.htmlThe Panama Canal Authority (PCA) plans to release its proposed toll fee structure for LNG vessels transiting the planned canal expansion in the middle of 2013. The PCA has completed its own analysis into the economics of LNG trade flows, and is expecting approval of the proposed toll fee by its board of directors and the Panamanian government in December. Work to deepen and widen the 77km-long canal, which links the Atlantic and Pacific basins in Central America, is now 50% complete, and is on track to begin commercial operations in the second quarter of 2015. However, the commercial viability of most of the proposed liquefaction projects in the US Gulf will depend to some degree on the Panama transit fee.
The canal could, for instance, save Japan-bound cargoes out of Trinidad from having to transit through the Suez Canal - a saving of 5,302 nautical miles that, at 19.5 knots, translates to an 11-day shorter voyage. However, some market participants have expressed concerns that the Panama toll could be close to prohibitive, with some industry observers predicting that the fee could be as high as $1m per transit. The PCA official did not give any indication of what the proposed fee structure would be, but said that the authority understood that it would have to be competitive in order to attract the necessary trade flows and revenues.
The Panama Canal is a chamber structure, meaning that LNG vessels will have to pass through a series of locks before completing the 24-36-hour transit. This, in turn, has added to concerns about the ability of the canal to provide the flexibility needed to significantly increase the level of spot and short-term trade from the Atlantic to the Pacific Basin. However, de Marucci said that the PCA was confident that the expansion would be able to cater for the needs of the LNG market.