Panama Canal Emergency Surcharge - Trade SAWC and Central America Pacific to WW Destinations

During Q2 2023, the Panama Canal Authority decided to reduce draft from 14.94 to 13.41. Despite several measures to conserve water taken over the last months, lack of precipitation in the area is affecting the water level of the Panama Canal. Consequently, the Panama Canal Authority has recently confirmed further restrictions regarding the number of vessels crossing the canal.

These restrictions, combined with the increase of the Canal Tariff implemented earlier this year, are having a direct impact on overall MSC operations costs. 

As a result, pricing for cargo from South America West Coast (SAWC) and Central America Pacific to any destination transiting the Panama Canal we will apply aa Panama Canal Emergency Surcharge (PCE) of USD 140/TEU effective 1 January 2024.

We thank you for your understanding and patience and we will keep you updated with further developments.

Any other elements of the price, for the relevant trades published on msc.com, still apply and remain unchanged. 

Should you have any questions, please contact your local MSC representatives in our global network of more than 675 offices.