Panama Canal Authority Board Publishes Toll Proposal

Panama Canal Authority The Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has published its proposal to restructure the Panama Canal's pricing system and certain regulations. On February 2, 2007, the ACP announced its desire to move toward a charge that accurately reflects the commercial value of the service and route. After a 30-day public consultation period, the ACP conducted a hearing on March 14. The proposal announced today has been slightly modified from the February proposal: At the request of the industry, implementation of the new charges has been postponed from May 2007 to July 2007. 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 changing the proposal and postponing implementation of the new pricing. Moreover, with this proposal, the ACP is providing its customers with guaranteed pricing to 2009 - something no one else in the industry does. Following the public hearing, the ACP conducted informal consultations with customers and industry representatives at various conferences to listen and receive input, including: Intertanko, Connecticut Maritime Association, etc. The ACP also met with President Michelle Bachelet of Chile.