Panama’s Ports Resume Operations as Investigations Continue
Government officials and the Panama Maritime Authority are highlighting the resumption of operations at the ports at each terminus of the Panama Canal as they work to complete the transition to Maersk’s AMP Terminals and MSC’s Terminal Investments Limited (TiL). However, at the same time, additional investigations are reported to be underway on the former operator, the Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison.
Restoring the operations was critical both to the country and to sending a message that it is “operations as normal” at the Panama Canal. The government of Panama moved on Monday, February 23, to take over the operations of the terminals in Balboa and Cristobal, locking out the management of the Panama Ports Company. The steps came as the Panama Supreme Court published its ruling that the law that established the concession for the ports in 1997 and the extension of the contract in 2021 were unconstitutional.
APM Terminals Panama quickly moved to establish its operations at the Port of Balboa. It reports that the first ships have now been handled at the terminals and that full operations will be achieved shortly. An inventory of the terminal’s assets was completed, as was staff training for the new operating system. The company says it has completed the placement of 82 percent of the employees.
Tests of the operations began on Wednesday, with AMP reporting 500 container movements, and a second ship was handled the following day. The first containership was scheduled to dock and be serviced on Friday. On Thursday, the first dry bulk cargo ship was serviced, importing rice, and vehicle deliveries were also continuing. It also said the three additional trains had been dispatched from the port.
TiL highlighted on Friday that the first containers had been handled from a vessel named Vivaldi (34,264 dwt). A total of 454 container movements were completed at the Port of Cristobal.
First container movements completed at Cristobal under TIL's management (AMP)
“The normalization in Balboa and Cristobal continues to advance, protecting jobs and ensuring operational continuity,” the President of Panama, José Mulino, announced. He said the companies would be working 24/7 this weekend to catch up on containers and strengthen foreign trade.
This came as Panama’s public prosecutor confirmed that investigators from the anti-corruption office had removed documents from the offices of the Panama Ports Company on Thursday. He declined to say what was being investigated, but Reuters reports it is a separate investigation not linked to the annulment of the concessions. The prosecutors said the investigation was in its early stages after they received information about a possible crime.
Mulino, addressing the media, said that CK Hutchinson acted with “arrogance” in Panama and without transparency. Panama has long contended that Hutchison had not met the terms of its agreement and made the payments to Panama. The company has repeatedly asserted that it invested more than $1.8 billion in infrastructure, technology, and human development.
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Media reports at the beginning of the week said employees in the ports had been advised by Panamanian officials not to speak to the management of the Panama Ports Company. CK Hutchison asserted that employees had been threatened with criminal prosecution while representatives of PPC were “excluded from the terminals.”
The company has continued to threaten legal actions after saying it would also start an international arbitration. Panama has promised to conduct a new tender for each port within the next 18 months.