Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison warns of legal action if Danish firm Maersk takes over Panama ports

2026-02-13 - 03:58

Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison has warned it will take legal action if Danish shipping giant AP Møller-Maersk takes over the operation of two ports on the Panama Canal run by its subsidiary. A flag of the Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. CK Hutchison also said on Thursday that it had notified Panama of international arbitration proceedings it has initiated following the Central American country’s top court decision to annul its contract to operate the ports. Panama’s Supreme Court ruled in late January that the law allowing a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, the Panama Ports Company (PPC), to operate two ports at either end of the Panama Canal was “unconstitutional.” The ruling came after US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to seize the strategic waterway. In a press release on Thursday, CK Hutchison said it considers the top court decision to be “unlawful,” and that whether the terminals at Balboa and Cristobal can continue to operate “depends solely on actions of the Panama Supreme Court and the Panamanian State.” Although the top court’s ruling has not yet been published or come into force, “the Panamanian State has advanced steps toward a forced exit of PPC and transition of the port sector, with no clarity as to operational plans,” CK Hutchison said. The Hong Kong-based conglomerate will seek legal advice on “all available recourse including additional national and international legal proceedings” against Panama, its agents, and “third parties colluding with them in this matter,” it added. APM Terminals arrangement Following the court ruling, the Panama Maritime Authority tapped APM Terminals, an affiliate of the Maersk group, to temporarily take over the operation of the two ports as part of a transition plan. APM Terminals has said it was willing to do so. Maersk’s container factory. File photo: Wikimedia commons. But CK Hutchison warned that APM Terminals will face legal action if it assumes the operation of PPC’s ports on the canal, adding that it had notified Maersk of the risk earlier this week. CK Hutchison and PPC will “take all steps reasonably available” to protect their terminal employees and avoid disruptions to ports operations, the firm said. CK Hutchison has managed the ports of Cristobal on the canal’s Atlantic side and Balboa on the Pacific side since 1997. The concession was extended for 25 years in 2021. While the US welcomed the court ruling that annulled the ports concession to CK Hutchison, China expressed outrage. The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, Beijing’s top office on Hong Kong affairs, threatened to make Panama pay a “heavy price.” Explainer: CK Hutchison’s Panama ports deal, Beijing’s reaction and the impact on geopolitics Hong Kong leader John Lee said on Tuesday that the port dispute had hurt investors’ confidence in Panama, adding that the Hong Kong government would fully support and cooperate with Beijing’s foreign policy. CK Hutchison announced in March its plan to sell the Panama Canal ports to a consortium led by US asset manager BlackRock. The status of that proposal is unclear following the court ruling.