Navy use of the canal is infrequent, with about 40 vessels transiting annually, excluding the service’s aircraft carriers, which are too large. Allowing free access would reportedly save the U.S. about $13 million each year, according to the WSJ report.

Panama's president says the State Department's claim of an agreement granting U.S. warships free canal passage was "based on a falsity. And that's intolerable."

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Thursday denied the U.S. State Department’s claim that his country had reached a deal allowing U.S. warships to transit the Panama Canal for free. Mulino said he had told U.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Thursday rejected U.S. claims that American warships and boats can transit the Panama Canal without paying a standard fee. In a weekly news conference, Mulino disputed a statement from the State Department on free transit after Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Panama earlier this week.