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Panama has officially canceled key port concessions held by a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison, paving the way for Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to temporarily operate two major terminals near the Panama Canal. The decision was published Monday in Panama’s official gazette, finalizing a Supreme Court ruling that annuls long-standing contracts for the Balboa and Cristobal ports.
For more than 20 years, Panama Ports Company, a CK Hutchison subsidiary, managed the Balboa and Cristobal terminals. Following the court’s ruling, the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) took formal possession of both ports by decree to guarantee uninterrupted port operations. Alberto Aleman Zubieta, who heads the technical transition team, confirmed that control shifted immediately upon publication of the ruling.
The Panamanian government has approved two temporary concession agreements, valid for up to 18 months. Under the arrangement, APM Terminals Panama, a Maersk subsidiary, will operate the Balboa terminal, while TIL Panama, part of MSC, will oversee operations at Cristobal. President Jose Raul Mulino emphasized that the move does not constitute expropriation but is a lawful mechanism to ensure operational continuity while authorities determine the assets’ true value and design a new concession model.
Mulino stated that port operations and jobs will remain unaffected during the transition. The temporary structure will stay in place as the government develops a new competitive concession framework aimed at avoiding past contractual mistakes.
The ruling, issued in late January, comes amid heightened U.S.-China tensions over strategic trade routes. The Panama Canal handles roughly 5% of global maritime trade, making control over adjacent port terminals geopolitically significant. U.S. President Donald Trump has previously called for limiting Chinese influence around the canal, and analysts view the court’s decision as a strategic shift in the region’s port management landscape.
