Auctions by the Panama Canal Authority for spot transits enable owners who do not have reservations to skip the queue, but with transits of the waterway limited to 32 per day, bids have soared recently.
Currently, shippers must pay substantial amounts to beat a logjam of vessels waiting to cross the Panama Canal. One recently had to pay $2.4 million, apart from the transit fee of approximately $400,000, to get a slot permit for its carrier to traverse the channel faster.
The Panama Canal Authority holds auctions for those who desire to queue jump. One can easily skip the queue, but it is immensely costly. When adding the regular fee, one gets closer to $3 million to get the vessels through.
Source: marineinsight.com