The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has sent a strongly worded letter to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) describing plans to increase tolls by up to 15 percent as “simply unacceptable.”
ICS calls for the plans to be withdrawn and for future increases to be given with at least six months’ notice to enable shipping companies to plan properly and fully assess the impact of the proposed changes.
The ACP published plans to increase its tolls last month, despite assuring industry clients in January there would only be one small adjustment to tolls before completion of the expansion project in 2014. Toll increases could come into effect as early as July 1, if agreed at a public hearing at the end of this month.