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News Release

May 25, 2012

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Panama Canal Holds Public Hearing on Tolls Adjustments

News Release Panama Canal Authority May 25, 2012
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<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Panama City, May 23,
2012</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">.&nbsp; Today, the
Panama Canal Authority (ACP) held a public hearing in the Ascanio Arosemena
Center in Balboa, Panama, on its proposal to modify the Panama Canal pricing
structure to align Canal toll charges with the value the route provides.&nbsp;
Seven representatives from shipping and government participated in this
opportunity to express their views.&nbsp; </SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN>&nbsp;</P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">"Today, Panama Canal
customers and members of the maritime industry were welcomed to participate in a
transparent and open process," said ACP Administrator/CEO Alberto Alem&#225;n
Zubieta. &#8220;We will study the comments made today, as well as the written
submissions."</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN>&nbsp;</P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Throughout the
consultation period (April 20, 2012 &#8211; May 21, 2012), the proposal was made
available to all interested parties. The ACP received a total of 18 comments,
opinions and written requests from interested parties to participate in the
public hearing.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN>&nbsp;</P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">New
Segments</SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The proposal
increases the number of segments from eight to eleven by Panama Canal vessel
type. It also breaks down the tanker segment into three distinct segments,
establishes a new segment for container/breakbulk, and incorporates the
roll-on/roll-off vessels into the vehicle carrier segment.&nbsp; Once approved,
the Panama Canal market segmentation scheme will include the following segments:
full container, reefer, dry bulk, passenger, vehicle carrier and ro-ro,
container/breakbulk, tanker, chemical tanker, LPG, general cargo and
others.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN></B>&nbsp;</P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Price
Proposal</SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Effective July 1,
2012, the ACP proposes to increase the tolls for the following segments:&nbsp;
general cargo, container/break bulk, dry bulk, tanker, chemical tanker, LPG,
vehicle carrier and ro-ro, and the segment known as others.&nbsp; The remaining
segments &#8211;container, reefer and passenger &#8211; will not be adjusted at this time,
nor will the price per TEU for containers carried onboard a vessel.&nbsp;
Additionally, there will be changes to tolls applicable to small vessels based
on vessel length, to incorporate adjustments not previously
considered.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN>&nbsp;</P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">&#8220;This proposal
continues to align the Panama Canal tolls to the value, benefit and quality the
route provides, and maintains the competitiveness of the Panama Canal&#8221;, stated
Alem&#225;n Zubieta.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN>&nbsp;</P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">For more information,
go to </SPAN><A
href="redir.aspx?C=ad30369c4dca4f22aa652ca3b2973ca5&amp;URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.pancanal.com%2fpeajes"
target=_blank><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">http://www.pancanal.com/peajes</SPAN></A><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN>&nbsp;</P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">About the Panama
Canal Authority (ACP)<BR></SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The ACP is the
autonomous agency of the Government of Panama in charge of managing, operating
and maintaining the Panama Canal. The operation of the ACP is based on its
organic law and the regulations approved by its Board of Directors. For more
information, please visit </SPAN><A
href="redir.aspx?C=ad30369c4dca4f22aa652ca3b2973ca5&amp;URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.pancanal.com%2f"
target=_blank><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">http://www.pancanal.com/</SPAN></A><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">. You can also follow
us on Twitter: </SPAN><A
href="redir.aspx?C=ad30369c4dca4f22aa652ca3b2973ca5&amp;URL=http%3a%2f%2ftwitter.com%2fthepanamacanal"
target=_blank><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">http://twitter.com/thepanamacanal</SPAN></A><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">.</SPAN></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>