Panama Canal Authority Board Announces Revised Tolls Proposal

News Release Panama Canal Authority July 6, 2012

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·       REVISED
PROPOSAL DEFERS IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW TOLLS TO OCTOBER 2012 AND OCTOBER 2013 IN RESPONSE TO INDUSTRY
REQUESTS
·       ACP REITERATES THAT THE PROPOSED PRICING
STRUCTURE DOES NOT INCLUDE ADJUSTMENTS TO FULL CONTAINER, REEFER AND PASSENGER
VESSELS NOR TO THE CHARGE PER TEU ONBOARD VESSELS
·       WELCOMES COMMENTS FROM INDUSTRY DURING OPEN, TRANSPARENT
PROCESS

PANAMA CITY,
Panama, June 27, 2012– The Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP)
announced today that it has published a revised tolls proposal
that defers
the implementation date of new Canal tolls to October 2012 and October 2013.


The ACP announced in
April its intention to adjust tolls to bring them closer to the value of the
route for certain market segments, to redefine some segments and to adjust
minimum tolls. After a 30-day public consultation period, the ACP conducted a
hearing on May 23. The April proposal has been slightly modified.  At the
request of the industry, implementation of the new charges has been postponed
from July 2012 to October 2012, giving the industry additional lead time before
implementation of the new tolls as well as providing an additional three months
before the second step of increase in 2013.  In addition, the revised
proposal eliminates the proposed container/breakbulk segment.
Container/breakbulk vessels will continue to be classified as part of the
segment known as others.

The revised tolls adjustment
will apply only to the following market segments: general cargo, dry bulk,
tanker, chemical tanker, LPG, vehicle carrier and ro-ro and the segment known as
others. Due to this modification, the ACP today is reopening the issue for
public comment and will consider additional input, suggestions and feedback from
interested parties over the next 15 days.

After receiving comments and
feedback from the maritime and shipping industry during its official
consultation period, the ACP responded to industry requests by modifying the
proposal and postponing implementation of the new pricing. “The Panama Canal is
the only organization in the shipping industry that consults with customers and
interested parties prior to implementing any modification to its pricing
structure.  This open and transparent process has given the ACP an
opportunity to listen to the needs of its customers and to adjust its proposal
accordingly,” said ACP Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán
Zubieta.

After the ACP’s Board of
Directors reviews the comments received during the 15-day period, it will make a
final decision and submit its recommendation to the Cabinet Council of the
Republic of Panama for its final approval.


Prior to this announcement, the
ACP held a consultation period (April 18, 2012 – May 21, 2012) and made the
proposal available to all interested parties. The ACP received a total of 18
written submissions, in both English and Spanish, from representatives of
countries, shipping associations, customers and other interested parties. The
consultation period culminated with a public hearing in Panama in which seven
representatives from shipping and government expressed their views during an
open and transparent process.  
The official proposal can be
accessed at <A
href="redir.aspx?C=597da60751784553a58bf6e1ee4e9fd0&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.pancanal.com%2f"
target=_blank>www.pancanal.com</A>. Significant elements include the following:


New
Segments The revised proposal
increases the number of segments from eight to ten by Panama Canal vessel type.
It also breaks down the tanker segment into three distinct segments and
incorporates the roll-on/roll-off vessels into the vehicle carrier segment. Once
approved, the Panama Canal market segmentation scheme will include the following
segments: full container, reefer, dry bulk, passenger, vehicle carrier and
ro-ro, tanker, chemical tanker, LPG, general cargo and others.
 
Price
Proposal Effective October 1,
2012 and October 1, 2013, respectively, the ACP proposes to increase the tolls
for the following segments: general cargo, dry bulk, tanker, chemical tanker,
LPG, vehicle carrier and ro-ro, and the segment known as others. The remaining
segments -container, reefer and passenger - will not be adjusted at this time,
nor will the price per TEU for containers carried onboard a vessel.
Additionally, there will be changes to tolls applicable to small vessels based
on vessel length, to incorporate adjustments not previously
considered.

About the
Panama Canal Authority (ACP) 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 refer to the ACP's Web site:
www.pancanal.com. For Panama Canal video, please visit <A
href="redir.aspx?C=597da60751784553a58bf6e1ee4e9fd0&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.youtube.com%2felcanaldepanamatv"
target=_blank>http://www.youtube.com/elcanaldepanamatv</A>. You can also follow us
on Twitter: <A
href="redir.aspx?C=597da60751784553a58bf6e1ee4e9fd0&URL=http%3a%2f%2ftwitter.com%2fthepanamacanal"
target=_blank>http://twitter.com/thepanamacanal</A>.
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