MSC announced that it will impose a Panama Canal surcharge of $297 per container on goods passing through the Panama Canal from Adia to the Caribbean region.

The new surcharge will take effect from December 15th.

"In the second quarter of 2023, the Panama Canal Authority decided to reduce the draft from 14.94 to 13.41. Despite some water conservation measures taken in the past few months, the lack of precipitation in the region is affecting the water level of the Panama Canal. Therefore, the Panama Canal Authority has recently confirmed further restrictions on the number of ships passing through the canal," MSC said in a statement.

The company pointed out that these restrictions, combined with the increase in canal freight rates implemented earlier this year, have had a direct impact on MSC's overall operating costs.