Panama Canal chief eyes major gains as Iran crisis chokes off Strait of Hormuz shipping route

The Panama Canal administrator touted the canal’s logistical capabilities and plans to improve supply chain readiness as the Strait of Hormuz reaches a near standstill due to the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. 

Dr. Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, the authority administrator for the Panama Canal, sat down during an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital and noted the canal’s anticipated improvements as the world’s busiest commercial shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz, has seen little to no traffic over the past few days. 

“We have been through the years a major channel to move LNG from the U.S. to Asia,” Morales told Fox News Digital. “Qatar usually supplies Asia, and after the Ukraine war, most of the American LNG has gone to Europe to replace the Russian LNG.”

“What we see is that probably prices are going to go up for LNG, which means that the current cost of the inventory on the vessel is going to increase,” he continued. “Fuel prices are going to go up.”

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Morales predicts that transit will increase in the Panama Canal as restraints in the Strait of Hormuz have continued to hold.

“The Panama Canal should get one or two transits a day, which is, in the old days, we had about three transits per day,” Morales added. “So it’s gonna come up a little bit and moving from the East Coast of the United States to Asia.”

The Strait of Hormuz normally facilitates the transit of roughly 20–21 million barrels of oil per day. Since last Friday, only four cargo ships have successfully traveled through the strait, and one of those ships was carrying corn.

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By comparison, approximately 2.3 million barrels move through the Panama Canal each day. 

Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and a quarter of the world’s total seaborne oil trade travels through the Strait of Hormuz.

As for the Panama Canal, the administrator said that they have plenty of water and a maximum draft that will allow more vessels to pass through.

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The administrator also addressed the threat of tariffs that has shocked global trade with the U.S. since President Donald Trump took office, noting an increase in traffic due to tariff threats. 

“Over the last 12 months, it increased volumes through the Panama Canal because people were anticipating tariffs, and they tried to front load the cargoes, especially for the later part of the year for Christmas demand in the states,” the administrator told Fox News Digital. “Now what we have is that essentially with the Lunar Year, they clear up all the inventories in Asia, so some of that has been moved into final destinations.”

President Donald Trump signaled his willingness to reopen the strait while speaking with reporters on Monday, pointing to Chinese reliance on the route, saying he wants to keep the passageway open.

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“We’re really helping China here and other countries because they get a lot of their energy from the Straits,” Trump said. “We have a good relationship with China. It’s my honor to do it.”

“I mean, we’re doing this for the other parts of the world, including countries like China,” Trump added. “They get a lot of their oil through the straits.”

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The president posted to Truth Social on Monday night that the U.S. would retaliate “TWENTY TIMES HARDER” against Iran should they take any actions that stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. 

“Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen! This is a gift from the United States of America to China, and all of those Nations that heavily use the Hormuz Strait,” Trump posted.