The Japanese Shipowners’ Association (JSA) said it will call for Panama to review its decision to implement three years of Panama Canal toll rises if shipping markets slip back into recession.
As earlier reported, the Panama Cabinet Council recently approved the Panama Canal Authority's (APC) proposed toll hike and review of charging structure, which is due to begin from January 2023.
The JSA said that the changes would double toll charges over three years for some ship types and sizes.
JSA vice president Keiji Tomoda said that the proposal for the toll increases was made on an “assumption” that the unusually hot shipping markets in some sectors would continue after 2025.
“We, however, firmly believe that such a peculiar environment was created by exceptional external factors triggered by the Covid-19 global pandemic and it may drastically change in the foreseeable future,” Tomoda said.
Tomoda said that the JSA, and other leading shipowners associations — including the South Korea Shipowners' Association, the International Chamber of Shipping and European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) — had earlier stated their case at a public hearing in Panama in May.
He said that Panama had declined a request to review toll changes, but he said he will ask the ACP to revisit the decision if the market moves.
“The JSA requests the ACP to swiftly review the new toll levels and system if the business environment has significantly changed,” Tomoda said.
He added Japan would “continue to enhance communication with the ACP through the regular dialogue, which was established in November 2017”.
Good dialogue
Tomoda said the JSA welcomed the prior notice period given and the simplification of the tariff system, which is a part of the toll system changes.
He said some of the revisions made to ACP’s original proposal reflected a “positive attitude toward good dialogues with customers”.
He said the JSA would willingly contribute to the canal’s management by providing information on safety, operational efficiency and environmental issues, including alternative fuels, through regular working-level discussion.
In an earlier statement, Panama Canal administrator Ricaurte Vasquez Morales said that the new toll system represented a “value-based pricing structure” that would offer shipowners more certainty.
