Panama Canal Auction Hits New Record at $5.3 Million

By Ruth Liao, Lucia Kassai and Nicholas Lua (Bloomberg) — A shipper needing to transit the Panama Canal bid a record $5.3 million to secure its spot, according to people familiar with the matter.

South Korea-based SK Gas Ltd. agreed to pay the sum to travel the canal on Sept. 1, said the people, who could not be identified as the information was confidential. The fee, determined through an auction run by the canal authority this week, breaks the previous high of $4.6 million set earlier this month, also paid by a shipper controlling a South Korean vessel.

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