PANAMA CITY, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Panama on Monday published in its official gazette a Supreme Court ruling canceling key port contracts held by a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, clearing the way for Maersk’s APM Terminals to take over temporarily.
The publication finalizes the legal annulment of concessions for the Balboa and Cristobal terminals near the Panama Canal, which Panama Ports Company (PPC), subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison, had operated for more than two decades.
The Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) has taken possession of both ports by decree to ensure uninterrupted operations, said Alberto Aleman Zubieta, head of the technical team overseeing the transition, after the ruling became final upon publication.
“Two separate contracts are being presented to the Board of Directors of the AMP — one for the Port of Balboa and one for the Port of Cristobal — instead of a single contract for both ports,” Aleman Zubieta told a press conference.
Maersk did not immediately have a comment about the matter.
Early in Feburary, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said the government would move forward to formalize an agreement with APM Terminals Panama, a subsidiary of Danish shipping group Maersk, to manage and control the ports once the ruling became legally binding.
Mulino said the arrangement would remain in place while the state develops a new long-term concession framework to be awarded in the future.
“The moment the official gazette publishes the court’s ruling Panama Ports loses control of the ports,” political analyst Jose Stoute told Reuters.
The ruling issued in late January came amid growing U.S.-China rivalry over global trade routes and marks a win for Washington.
U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed to curb Chinese influence over the Panama Canal, which carries about 5% of global maritime trade.
(Reporting by Elida Moreno; Writing by Natalia Siniawski, Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Sarah Morland)