# Congestion Hits the Panama Canal and the Pandemic Isn't Helping

> Bloomberg reports ships, including LNG and LPG carriers, face 10 to 15 day waits at the Panama Canal for vessels without booked slots, attributed to pandemic staffing cuts and traffic. The Panama Canal Authority says delays affect only unreserved arrivals and cites seasonal fog and added COVID procedures.

- Date: 2020-10-30 · published 2020-10-30T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: logistics · region Global · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/50536-congestion-hits-the-panama-canal-and-the-pandemic-isn-t-helping
- Commodities: [Natural Gas](https://feedsoft.ai/c/NATGAS.md), [Ocean Grain Freight](https://feedsoft.ai/c/OCEANFRT.md)

## Why it matters

Longer transit waits raise LNG charter rates and may push US Gulf cargoes toward alternative routes, which tightens shipping availability and adds freight cost on US-Asia trade lanes.

## Read by commodity

- NATGAS: bullish ▲
- OCEANFRT: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NATGAS | 2020-10-30 | [Panama Canal Clogged With Ships, and Pandemic Is Making It Worse  \| Financial Post](https://feedsoft.ai/events/50539-panama-canal-clogged-with-ships-and-pandemic-is-making-it-worse-financial-post.md) | -11.5% | -16.6% |
| NATGAS | 2020-11-07 | [Between 10 and 15 Days to Cross the Panama Canal Without a Reservation » Puente de Mando](https://feedsoft.ai/events/50039-between-10-and-15-days-to-cross-the-panama-canal-without-a-reservation-puente.md) | +4.7% | -13.6% |
| NATGAS | 2020-11-03 | [LNG tankers without reservations seeing longer waiting times at Panama Canal -](https://feedsoft.ai/events/50040-lng-tankers-without-reservations-seeing-longer-waiting-times-at-panama-canal.md) | -12.5% | -8.0% |
| NATGAS | 2026-06-24 | [Two Pressures, One Canal: Conservation Meets Geopolitics at Panama \| Engineering News-Record](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16849-two-pressures-one-canal-conservation-meets-geopolitics-at-panama-engineering.md) | +3.7% | -11.2% |
| NATGAS | 2022-09-27 | [Looming Feedstock Prices and Supply Constraints Pressurized the Methionine Prices in the U.S](https://feedsoft.ai/events/39911-looming-feedstock-prices-and-supply-constraints-pressurized-the-methionine.md) | -11.5% | -26.7% |

## Sources

- gcaptain.com: https://gcaptain.com/congestion-panama-canal-pandemic/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.