On February 5, 2025, the US State Department said in a post on X , formerly Twitter, that the United States government ships would be allowed to transit the Panama Canal toll-free, resulting in “millions of dollars of savings‘ for America, Offshore Energy reports.
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP), which has sole control over transit tolls, refuted the State Department’s claims, stating in a post that no fee modifications have been made. The authority nonetheless expressed its openness to engaging in constructive dialogue with relevant US officials regarding the transit of America’s warships.
"In response to a publication released by the United States Department of State, the Panama Canal Authority, authorized to set tolls and other charges for transiting the Canal, communicates that it has made no adjustments to these fees. With absolute responsibility, the Panama Canal Authority, as previously stated, is willing to engage in dialogue with the relevant officials of the United States regarding the transit of military ships from that country," ACP said in its press release.
Navy use of the canal, however, is understood to be quite infrequent – around 40 vessels transiting per year, or representing what is estimated to be 0.3% of the canal’s traffic from 1998 to now – with fees varying depending on the ship’s displacement tonnage, or the weight of the water displaced by the vessel.
The President of Panama José Raúl Mulino shared that the State Department’s declaration had ‘taken him by surprise’.
“They are making significant statements based on a falsehood, and that is intolerable, simply and plainly intolerable,” President Mulino reportedly told CNN Latin America.
President Mulino also added that – unlike the exorbitant digits that have been alleged to be the ‘real’ sum of money that the US pays in tolls to the canal – the fees for American-flagged ships have been $6 to $7 million annually, a price he felt was manageable for US economy.