The Panamanian government said Tuesday that trade has not been affected after it took control of two ports operated by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings at the Panama Canal. Authorities moved in Monday to take over the Balboa port on the Pacific side and the Cristóbal port on the Atlantic side, after a court annulled the contract that had allowed Hutchison to run the terminals under concession for nearly three decades.
Under new 18-month agreements signed with the Panamanian government, Balboa will be operated by APM Terminals, a subsidiary of Denmark’s Maersk, while Cristóbal will be run by Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), which is part of shipping giant MSC. The change in operators “has really not had any kind of impact” on trade, José Ramón Icaza, the minister for Canal Affairs, told a news conference.
Icaza said there were no cargo ships docked at either Balboa or Cristóbal when Panamanian authorities took control of the ports, a move Hutchison has described as “illegal” and said it will challenge before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris. The Panama Canal Authority also said in a statement that operations along the waterway “continue normally and safely.” The canal handles about 5% of global maritime trade.
Officials said the ports’ operating system has already been switched over and that an audit is underway of cargo stored in containers so it can be released in the coming days. Icaza said “significant progress” has been made to get the ports running again “as soon as possible.”
Nearly 10 million containers passed through Panama’s ports in 2025, with 38% moving through the terminals previously operated by Hutchison. The government has rejected claims that the move amounts to an expropriation and said it plans to launch new tenders so different firms can operate the terminals under concession.
