Carriers download Panama Canal fee hike on shippers

OCEAN carriers levying surcharges after the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced a US$10 per laden TEU increase on transit fees from January 1, reports London`s Containerisation International.

Geneva`s Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) announced that its Panama Canal Surcharge (PCS) will rise from $175 to $200 per TEU from December 15 for all cargo moving between US and Canada and the west coast of South America (WCSA).


Meanwhile, Germany`s Hapag-Lloyd raised its canal surcharge to US$145 per TEU for cargo moving between Oceania and the Americas and to $315 per FEU on the transatlantic trade and routes between the North American west coast and the Middle East.


The new canal authority tariff which takes effect from the beginning of next year raised the cost of transiting the canal by $10 per laden TEU, from $72 to $82 per TEU. But it also introduced concessions for empties, holding the fee at US$72 per TEU. Whether this is included in forthcoming carriers` canal surcharges is unknown.