MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“Disney Magic” cruise pays record Panama Canal toll

The US cruise ship “Disney Magic” paid a record 331,200 US dollars to cross the Panama Canal. The 295-meter-long cruise owned by a subsidiary of Walt Disney Co, broke the transit record on May 16, the Panama Canal Authority said.

The ship sails out of Port Canaveral, Florida, and is registered in the Bahamas. Three container ships have also recently paid more than 313,000 US dollars, the previous record price set in October 2007 by NCL Corp Ltd cruise vessel "Norwegian Pearl". NCL is an affiliate of Star Cruises Ltd. Non-reserved slots for crossing the canal are sold at auction to the highest bidder, with yachts, cruise liners and container vessels all competing for limited spaces on the 80 kilometer waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific. Companies shipping goods between Asia and the US East Coast are willing to pay higher prices to cross the canal to save time and avoid docking goods at ports in Mexico and Central America and transporting them over land. The canal also allows cruise ships to journey from the Caribbean to the Pacific. The Disney Magic vessel offers cruises from Florida to Los Angeles, and crossing the Panama Canal is one of the highlights for tourists. The Caribbean cruise season extends from October to May and over 300 call at the Panama Canal during that period. Last year the Panama Canal Authority launched a 5.25 billion US dollars expansion plan, but work won't be completed until 2014. Panama Canal income last year totaled 1.76 billion US dollars. Since last October a new rates system was instrumented and passenger vessels must pay according to the number of litters instead of tonnage as previously. Waiting times to enter the canal increased by a third in the first three months of this year compared with the same period in 2007, due to a high traffic levels at the canal. The number of passenger and cruise ships crossing the canal increased by 30% in the same period.