Panama Canal ports will keep operating after court finds CK Hutchinson concession unconstitutional, president says

Source: Associated Press

Panama Canal ports will keep operating after court finds concession unconstitutional, president says

By ALMA SOLÍS
Updated 12:23 PM EST, January 30, 2026

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panama’s president moved to assure the public on Friday that critical ports at both ends of the Panama Canal will continue to operate without interruption — a day after the country’s Supreme Court ruled that the concession held by a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings was unconstitutional.

The court’s decision late Thursday advances a U.S. aim to block any influence by China over the strategic waterway and immediately drew a sharp rebuke from Beijing.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said that until the court’s ruling is executed — a period of time he did not specify — Panama’s Maritime Authority would work with Panama Ports Company, the CK Hutchison subsidiary, to ensure continuing operations at the port.

Once the concession is formally ended, a local subsidiary of Danish logistics company A.P. Moller-Maersk will operate the ports in a transitional phase until a new concession can be bid and awarded, Mulino said.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/panama-canal-ports-us-china-b5fe3cdcc1fce45dbf1b0843a620830a