Last week, after posting the decision by the Panama Supreme Court to nullify the existing contracts with CK Hutchison, the Panamanian government took control of the ports at both ends of the canal.
The Panama Maritime Authority took control of the terminals on February 23rd, along with all assets inside and outside the terminals (cranes, vehicles, computer systems, software, etc).
Panama will no longer allow one operator to control both ports. Instead, they have given temporary authority to Maersk’s APM Terminals to operate Balboa terminal on the Pacific side of the crossing and Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s (MSC) Terminal Investment Limited (TiL) authority to operate Cristobal terminal on the Atlantic side.
Both APM and TiL will hold their temporary authority for 18 months while the Panamanian government reviews bid options.
Hutchison, however, is not going down without a fight. They have begun arbitration proceedings with the International Chamber of Commerce for damages and are looking at other legal options.