Panama Drops Fees for US Government Vessels Transiting Panama Canal: State Department

The Department of State on Wednesday said that U.S. government vessels can now traverse the Panama Canal without having to pay charge fees, which will save the U.S. government millions of dollars per year. “The government of Panama has agreed to no longer charge fees for U.S. government vessels to transit the Panama Canal,” the State Department said in a post on social media platform X. Panama Canal charge fees, collected by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), include base transit tolls, reservation fees, and penalties for no-shows. The announcement comes after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino on Feb. 2 during a six-day trip to Central America, which also brought Rubio to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic....