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CK Hutchison Unit Files London Arbitration Against Maersk Over Panama Ports

The case tests control of canal-side terminals with wide trade and geopolitical implications.

FILE - Ship containers are stacked at the Panama Canal Balboa port, operated by the Panama Ports Company, in Panama City, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - Cranes load and unload containers from cargo ships at the Cristobal port, operated by the Panama Ports Company, in Colon, Panama, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
A truck drives past the port gate of Panama Ports Company (PPC) after Panama’s Supreme Court annulled key port contracts held by the Hong Kong‑based CK Hutchison–owned firm, leaving the future of some Panama Canal operations uncertain, in Panama City, Panama, January 30, 2026. REUTERS/Aris Martinez/File Photo
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Overview

  • Panama Ports Company, CK Hutchison’s local unit, launched arbitration in London against Maersk, alleging the Danish group breached a long-term contract by helping replace PPC at the Balboa terminal.
  • The filing follows Panama’s Supreme Court voiding in January the framework for PPC’s 1997 concession to run the Balboa and Cristóbal terminals, key gateways on each side of the Panama Canal that carries about 5% of world trade.
  • After the ruling, the government granted temporary contracts to APM Terminals to operate Balboa and to MSC’s Terminal Investment Limited to manage Cristóbal.
  • PPC said the Maersk case is separate from its bid for at least US$2 billion in damages from the Panamanian state over the takeover of its operations.
  • The dispute has thrown CK Hutchison’s planned multibillion-dollar sale of its global ports business to a BlackRock- and MSC-led consortium into doubt.