PANAMA CITY — Businesses have paid up to $4 million in recent weeks to secure earlier transit slots through the Panama Canal as companies reroute shipments to avoid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, the Panama Canal Authority reported. Demand for auctioned crossing slots has risen in recent weeks as vessels seek faster passage through the waterway.

Passage through the canal typically comes at a flat rate via reservations, with the average price ranging between $300,000 and $400,000 depending on the vessel. Companies without reservations can cross by paying an additional fee in an auction, with slots awarded to the highest bidder rather than waiting for days off the coast of Panama City. Previously, businesses seeking an earlier crossing paid an additional $250,000 to $300,000, but in recent weeks that average has jumped to around $425,000.

One company paid an extra $4 million to secure an earlier slot when its fuel vessel changed destination due to geopolitical tensions, and other oil companies paid more than $3 million in additional fees to accelerate their passage, according to the canal administrator. "It was a ship carrying fuel to Europe, and they redirected it to Singapore, and it needed to get there because Singapore is running out of fuel," canal administrator Ricaurte Vásquez said.

Ships have not piled up at the canal, Vásquez said, attributing the higher costs to last-minute shifts and greater urgency by vessels needing to reach their destinations faster during trade disruptions. He said the additional costs are temporary and not a standard market rate.

Ships have increasingly traveled through the Panama Canal as shipments are rerouted and buyers purchase from other countries to avoid commerce through the Middle Eastern waterway, where Iran and the United States have bottlenecked traffic. The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil briefly jumped above $107 in recent days, up from around $66 a year ago.

"With all the bombings, the missiles, the drones ... companies are saying it's safer and less expensive to cross through the Panama Canal," said Rodrigo Noriega, a lawyer and analyst. "All of this is affecting global supply chains." Noriega said canal crossing fees may increase if the conflict continues. He also said in a recent interview, "No one really foresaw the potential effects (the war) would have on global trade."

Panama's foreign ministry accused Iran of illegally seizing a Panama-flagged vessel from the Italian company MSC Francesca in the Strait of Hormuz, saying the vessel was "forcibly taken" by Iran. The ministry said, "This represents a serious attack on maritime security and constitute an unnecessary escalation at a time when the international community is advocating for the Strait of Hormuz to remain open to international navigation without threats or coercion of any kind."