Panama Canal wins $192.8m arbitration ruling

A Miami-based arbitration board rejected a demand by Spanish-led Grupo Unidos por el Canal consortium for $192.8 million to cover cost overruns during the construction of a third set of locks for the 102-year-old waterway, Reuters reported.    Panama Canal Authority (ACP) CEO Jorge Quijano said a Miami-based arbitration board has rejected a demand by Spanish-led Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) consortium to cover cost overruns during the construction of a third set of locks for the 102-year-old waterway.
   “We have been informed that we have won a major arbitration dealing with the expansion of the canal by the GUPC contractor for $192.8 million,” Quijano wrote in a Facebook post.
   GUPC includes Sacyr SA of Spain, Impregilo of Italy, Jan De Nul of Belgium, and Constructura Urbana of Panama.
   The consortium argued ACP should compensate it for costs associated with temporary water infrastructure it built on the Pacific entrance of the canal, Reuters reported.
   ACP said the arbitration panel ordered GUPC to pay over $22 million for the authority’s expenses associated with the arbitration, as well as $900,000 in additional reimbursements, according to Reuters.
   The expanded Panama Canal locks opened June 26, 2016. Before then, the largest containerships able to pass through the canal have had a carrying capacity of 5,000-5,100 TEUs, but now, ships carrying 13,500 to 14,000 TEUs have been able to transit the 102-year-old waterway.
  According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting’s Capacity Report, 30 fully cellular container services routinely sail through the Panama Canal.