Later today a boxship will pay the highest ever Panama Canal transit fee in the waterway’s 102-year history.
The Hong Kong-flagged MOL Benefactor will shell out $829,468 for the 77 km interoceanic crossing, beating the record $575,545 Cosco Shipping Panama paid as the first vessel to transit the expanded canal last Sunday.
will shell out $829,468 for the 77 km interoceanic crossing, beating the record $575,545 Cosco Shipping Panama paid as the The MOL Benefactor is a Seaspan controlled 10,000 teu ship which is 337 m long and 48 m wide.
Given that the newly widened canal can accept boxships of up to 12,000 teu, a $1m transit fee is on the cards soon, all happening to repay the $5.25bn Panamanian authorities have paid to get the waterway widened over the past decade.
