A ship just paid $5.3 million for a reservation to cross the Panama Canal. For one trip.
Giphy
That sounds insane until you realize what the ship was actually buying.
Not 50 miles. Time.
South Korean energy company SK Gas paid the record amount for its LPG carrier G. Spirit to get a northbound transit slot on September 1, ahead of tighter canal restrictions. The previous record had been about $4.6 million.
And here's the delicious part: The Panama Canal is only about 50 miles long.
Gif by levarburtonkids on Giphy
A ship can cross it in roughly 8 to 10 hours. So why would anyone spend millions for something that takes less than half a day?
Because the canal isn't selling a shortcut. It's selling access to a bottleneck.