Aug 28, 2026 (Bloomberg) –Growing congestion at the Panama Canal is forcing some gas tankers into unusual journeys, from a rare detour around South America to the possible emergence of shuttling through the waterway.
Two supertankers were recently observed conducting an unusual ship-to-ship transfer off Balboa port on Panama’s Pacific Ocean coast, according to vessel-tracking data, traders and shipbrokers. The process allows one of the tankers to shuttle back and forth through the canal to ensure the steady flow of liquefied petroleum gas to Asian customers, traders said.
The Iran war has diverted more traffic through the canal, while authorities tightened restrictions on how much cargo vessels can carry along with the number of ships that can cross due to drier conditions triggered by El Niño. Waiting times for vessels that haven’t made bookings in advance to transit the waterway have grown in recent months and some operators are paying millions of dollars to jump the queue.
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There are currently 14 ships waiting near the canal without reservations, while there’s a total of 115 scheduled to transit, a canal spokesperson said Friday. Of the 14 vessels without bookings, those seeking northbound passage face a maximum wait of 8 days, while those looking to go south have to wait as long as four days, the spokesperson said.
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