Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of the Hong Kong group CK Hutchison Holdings, has filed an arbitration procedure in London against Maersk for what it describes as the involvement of the Danish shipping company in the takeover of its port terminals in Panama. The legal action is in addition to the arbitration that PPC is already pursuing against the Republic of Panama, in which it claims 2 billion dollars in damages.
The conflict originates from the Panamanian government's decision to take control of the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal on February 23, 2026, after the country's Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the concession that PPC held over both terminals. Through an executive decree, Panama took possession of the facilities and associated assets and granted temporary concessions for their operation to APM Terminals, Maersk's container terminal division, and Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), the investment arm in terminals of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company.
CK Hutchison had operated the Balboa and Cristóbal terminals continuously since 1997, with a renewal of the concession in 2021. The Panamanian government's action came after an audit concluded that Hutchison had paid below what was owed for the concession, in an estimated amount of about 1.2 billion dollars. The decision was framed in a context of pressure from the U.S. administration to reduce Chinese influence in the Panama Canal area.
In its arbitration claim against Maersk, PPC accuses the Danish shipping company of acting against the contractual terms and aligning itself with the Panamanian government in what the company describes as a campaign directed against PPC to replace it with the installation of new port operators. PPC has clarified that the claim against Maersk is independent of the procedure it maintains against Panama and has stated that it will vigorously pursue both legal avenues, although it has not detailed the type of compensation it seeks in the case against the Danish shipping company.
The Panamanian government has insisted that this is not an expropriation, but rather the issuance of temporary licenses for Maersk and MSC to manage the terminals, and has assured that the facilities are operating normally under the new management. CK Hutchison, for its part, considers the Panamanian judicial decision to be an act contrary to law, a position that is backed by the Chinese government.
Maersk has not yet commented on the arbitration claim filed by PPC. The resolution of both procedures, both the one directed against Panama and the one initiated against Maersk, could have significant implications for the operation of the container terminals of the Panama Canal, one of the most strategic points of global maritime trade.