The $4 million payment was up from the less than $1 million that some vessels were paying to cut in line at the Panama Canal as recently as early March.

With few signs that the Strait of Hormuz will be fully open to tankers anytime soon, islands in the Pacific face a deepening crisis with no end in sight.

TSMC also warned of potential long term impacts to profitability from the ongoing war in Iran, which has impacted the global supply of chemicals used in chipmaking.

No vessels made it through the blockade, which is made up of more than a dozen warships and 10,000 service personnel, according to CentCom.

Between January and March 2026, POLA handled 2.4 million TEUs, down 5% from last year.

If Trump orders the Navy to blockade the strait itself, he puts U.S. assets in danger of Iranian missiles.

The program addresses a growing challenge: the scale and sophistication of counterfeit goods entering global supply chains. 

The mechanism by which ship operators get permission from Iran to transit the strait remain unclear, over questions as to who is actually in charge.

Iran said it would only observe a two-week ceasefire if Israel ceased its attacks on Lebanon, but Israel hit over 100 sites in Lebanon on April 8.

The Balboa port is one of two terminals along the strategic Panama Canal that have become a flashpoint in the intensifying rivalry between the U.S. and China in Latin America.