Panama Canal Traffic Spurs $4 Million Line-Jumping Payment (1)

Tankers and cargo ships are facing three-and-a-half day waits to enter the Panama Canal as the Iran war sparks a surge in traffic, prompting one vessel to plunk down an extra $4 million to jump to the front of the line.

The queue at the 50-mile (82-kilometer) waterway — the longest since a historic 2023-2024 drought that slashed vessel passages — has grown as the near-shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz strangled oil, natural gas, fertilizer and chemical shipments from Persian Gulf nations. In response, buyers scrambling for alternative supplies are relying on the canal to send those deliveries ...