Panama Canal

===Tolls===
[[File:Ship passing through Panama Canal 01.jpg|right|thumb|[[Roll-on/roll-off]] ships, such as this one at [[Miraflores (Panama)|Miraflores locks]], are among the largest ships to pass through the canal.]]
As with a [[toll road]], vessels transiting the canal must pay tolls. Tolls for the canal are set by the [[Panama Canal Authority]] and are based on vessel type, size, and the type of cargo.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/tariff/index.html
|title=Marine Tariff
|publisher=Panama Canal Authority
|access-date=June 3, 2014
|archive-date=August 2, 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802022239/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/tariff/index.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

For [[container ship]]s, the toll is assessed on the ship's capacity expressed in [[twenty-foot equivalent unit]]s (TEUs), one TEU being the size of a standard [[intermodal shipping container]]. Effective April 1, 2016, this toll went from US$74 per loaded container to $60 per TEU capacity plus $30 per loaded container for a potential $90 per TEU when the ship is full. A Panamax container ship may carry up to {{TEU|4,400}}. The toll is calculated differently for passenger ships and for container ships carrying no cargo ("in ballast"). {{As of|2016|04|01|df=US}}, the ballast rate is US$60, down from US$65.60 per TEU.

Passenger vessels in excess of 30,000 tons (PC/UMS) pay a rate based on the number of berths, that is, the number of passengers that can be accommodated in permanent beds. Since April 1, 2016, the per-berth charge is $111 for unoccupied berths and $138 for occupied berths in the Panamax locks. Starting in 2007, this fee has greatly increased the tolls for such ships.<ref>Panama Canal Toll Table http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/tariff/1010-0000-Rev20160414.pdf{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Passenger vessels of less than 30,000 tons or less than 33 tons per passenger are charged according to the same per-ton schedule as are freighters. Almost all major cruise ships have more than 33 tons per passenger; the rule of thumb for cruise line comfort is generally given as a minimum of 40 tons per passenger.

Most other types of vessels pay a toll per [[tonnage|PC/UMS net ton]], in which one "ton" is actually a volume of {{convert|100|cuft|m3|2}}. (The calculation of [[tonnage]] for commercial vessels is quite complex.) {{As of|2016|alt=As of fiscal year 2016}}, this toll is US$5.25 per ton for the first 10,000 tons, US$5.14 per ton for the next 10,000 tons, and US$5.06 per ton thereafter. As with container ships, reduced tolls are charged for freight ships "in ballast", $4.19, $4.12, $4.05 respectively.

On April 1, 2016, a more complicated toll system was introduced, having the neopanamax locks at a higher rate in some cases, natural gas transport as a new separate category and other changes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/tariff/index.html|title=Maritime Services - PanCanal.com|website=www.pancanal.com|access-date=June 3, 2014|archive-date=August 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802022239/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/op/tariff/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As of October 1, 2017, there are modified tolls and categories of tolls in effect.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pancanal.com/peajes/pdf/2018/2018-ApprovedTolls.pdf |website=[[Panama Canal Authority]] |title=Toll Tariffs Approved By Cabinet Council And Published On The Official Gazzette. Implementation: October 1, 2017 (Fy 2018) |access-date=September 26, 2017 |archive-date=September 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927052651/http://www.pancanal.com/peajes/pdf/2018/2018-ApprovedTolls.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Small (less than 125&nbsp;ft) vessels up to 583 PC/UMS net tons when carrying passengers or cargo, or up to 735 PC/UMS net tons when in ballast, or up to 1,048 fully loaded displacement tons, are assessed minimum tolls based upon their [[length overall]], according to the following table (as of April 29, 2015):
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Length of vessel
! Toll
|-
| Up to {{convert|15.240|m|ft|0|sp=us}} || US$800
|-
| From {{convert|15.240|to|24.384|m|ft|0|sp=us}} || US$1,300
|-
| From {{convert|24.384|to|30.480|m|ft|0|sp=us}} || US$2,000
|-
| More than {{convert|30.480|m|ft|0|sp=us}} || US$3,200
|-
| INTRA MARITIME CLUSTER – Local Tourism<br />More than {{convert|24.384|m|ft|0|sp=us}} || US$2,000<br />plus $72/TEU
|}

Morgan Adams of Los Angeles, California, holds the distinction of paying the first toll received by the U.S. government for the use of the Panama Canal by a pleasure boat. His boat ''Lasata'' passed through the Zone on August 14, 1914. The crossing occurred during a {{convert|6000|mi|km|order=flip|sp=us|sigfig=1|abbr=off|adj=on}} sea voyage from Jacksonville, Florida, to Los Angeles in 1914.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-11 |title=The Panama Canal - All You Need to Know |url=https://panamapassion.com/the-panama-canal-all-you-need-to-know/ |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=Panama Passion |language=en-US}}</ref>

The most expensive regular toll for canal passage to date was charged on April 14, 2010, to the cruise ship ''[[Norwegian Pearl]],'' which paid US$375,600.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://traveltips.usatoday.com/panama-canal-61272.html|date=<!-- none given -->|access-date=2012-08-03|title=US Today Travel: Panama Canal Facts|work=USA Today|archive-date=February 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217025241/http://traveltips.usatoday.com/panama-canal-61272.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2008-06-24|title=ACP rectifica récord en pago de peaje|publisher=La Prensa|url=http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2008/06/24/hoy/negocios/1416962.html|access-date=2009-08-08|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090816182550/http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2008/06/24/hoy/negocios/1416962.html|archive-date=August 16, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> The average toll is around US$54,000. The highest fee for priority passage charged through the [[Congestion pricing#Panama Canal booking system and auction|Transit Slot Auction System]] was US$220,300, paid on August 24, 2006, by the Panamax [[Tanker (ship)|tanker]] ''Erikoussa'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ediciones.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2007/04/24/hoy/negocios/960466.html|title=''Récord en pago de peajes y reserva''|work=La Prensa|publisher=Ediciones.prensa.com|date=2007-04-24|access-date=2009-07-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006110958/http://ediciones.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2007/04/24/hoy/negocios/960466.html|archive-date=October 6, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> bypassing a 90-ship queue waiting for the end of maintenance work on the [[Panama Canal Locks|Gatun Locks]], and thus avoiding a seven-day delay. The normal fee would have been just US$13,430.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2006/08/25/hoy/negocios/714407.html |title=''Cupo de subasta del Canal alcanza récord''. La Prensa. Sección Economía & Negocios. Edición 25 August 2006 in Spanish |publisher=Mensual.prensa.com |access-date=2009-07-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803154550/http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2006/08/25/hoy/negocios/714407.html |archive-date= 3 August 2009 }}</ref>

The lowest toll ever paid was 36 cents ({{Inflation|US|0.36|1928|r=2|fmt=eq}}), by American [[Richard Halliburton]] who swam the Panama Canal in 1928.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/canal-faqs/tolls.html|title=About ACP - PanCanal.com|publisher=Panama Canal Authority|access-date=8 October 2014|archive-date=November 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127210411/http://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/canal-faqs/tolls.html|url-status=live}}</ref>