PANAMA CITY, March 13 - Panama’s government has expressed its expectation that China’s COSCO Shipping will reverse a recent decision to stop using the Balboa port at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, Jose Ramon Icaza, the minister responsible for canal affairs, told reporters on Friday.
Local media earlier this week published a notice from COSCO to its clients indicating the carrier had suspended operations at Balboa. According to the minister, COSCO did not reply to earlier requests for comment about the suspension.
"The COSCO issue has really taken us a little bit by surprise," Icaza said at the event, noting the carrier accounts for roughly 4% of the cargo that transits through Balboa. "All cargo is important, and certainly COSCO’s cargo is important for us, for Panama, and we obviously hope that they will reconsider that decision not to use the port of Balboa."
Balboa is one of two ports at the center of a year-long saga involving Washington, Beijing and the Panamanian government. The current situation follows a late-January ruling by Panama’s Supreme Court that annulled the contract to operate the port that had been held by a unit of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison.
In the wake of the court decision, APM Terminals, a subsidiary of Maersk, has taken over temporary operations at Balboa. That arrangement is set to last for a period of up to 18 months, according to available information.
Panama’s statements make clear the government views COSCO’s business at Balboa as material to the port’s throughput, even though the company represents a single-digit share of cargo volume. The minister’s comments underscore the country’s interest in maintaining established shipping patterns while the legal and operational shifts play out.
Contextual note - The developments reported here involve a combination of legal rulings, a temporary operational transition and a major international carrier’s decision to suspend port calls. The situation remains fluid pending any response from COSCO or further judicial or administrative actions.