The Chinese company that operates ports at the Panama Canal will have to give up control after that country’s Supreme Court ruled the concession was unconstitutional, according to published reports.
Beijing protested the decision announced late Thursday over the concession held by a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings of Hong Kong.
President Donald Trump has said that the U.S. taking back control of the waterway is imperative.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said that until the court’s ruling is implemented, the state maritime authority would work with Hutchison’s Panama Ports Company at Cristobal and Balboa to assure continued smooth operations. He did not say when that would take place.
In the transition, a local subsidiary of A.P. Moller-Maersk (MAERSK-B.CO) will operate the ports until a new concession can be bid and awarded, Mulino said.
In 2025, U.S. investor BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) and privately-held Mediterranean Shipping Co. of Geneva, the world’s largest container carrier, had reached agreement to purchase Hutchison (0000.HK), which has operations at 40 ports, for $22.8 billion. But the deal fell apart after China demanded state-owned ocean carrier Cosco (1199.HK) receive a controlling share.
FreightWaves has reached out to BlackRock and MSC for comment.
This article was updated Jan. 30 to add background on the earlier proposed sale of CK Hutchison Holdings.
