{"id":70801,"date":"2026-01-31T03:59:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T06:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shipping.einnews.com\/article\/888185458"},"modified":"2026-01-31T03:59:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T06:59:08","slug":"shipping-giant-maersk-to-take-over-panama-canal-ports-after-court-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/01\/31\/shipping-giant-maersk-to-take-over-panama-canal-ports-after-court-ruling\/","title":{"rendered":"Shipping giant Maersk to take over Panama Canal ports after court ruling"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id>\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Danish company will replace Hong Kong-based firm, CK Hutchison, after Trump claimed strategic waterway was controlled by China.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"byline byline--single-avatar\">\n<div class=\"avatars-container\"><a class=\"avatar\" aria-hidden=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/author\/lyndal_rowlands_170519012102404\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"responsive-image\"><img data-opt-id=758893364  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" fifu-lazy=\"1\" fifu-data-sizes=\"auto\" fifu-data-srcset=\"https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/021059e7440d45cba3c79e9ae03f3bbf_6.jpeg?w=75&ssl=1 75w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/021059e7440d45cba3c79e9ae03f3bbf_6.jpeg?w=100&ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/021059e7440d45cba3c79e9ae03f3bbf_6.jpeg?w=150&ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/021059e7440d45cba3c79e9ae03f3bbf_6.jpeg?w=240&ssl=1 240w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/021059e7440d45cba3c79e9ae03f3bbf_6.jpeg?w=320&ssl=1 320w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/021059e7440d45cba3c79e9ae03f3bbf_6.jpeg?w=500&ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/021059e7440d45cba3c79e9ae03f3bbf_6.jpeg?w=640&ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/021059e7440d45cba3c79e9ae03f3bbf_6.jpeg?w=800&ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/021059e7440d45cba3c79e9ae03f3bbf_6.jpeg?w=1024&ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/021059e7440d45cba3c79e9ae03f3bbf_6.jpeg?w=1280&ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/021059e7440d45cba3c79e9ae03f3bbf_6.jpeg?w=1600&ssl=1 1600w\" loading=\"lazy\" fifu-data-src=\"https:\/\/mlmjbqro95r8.i.optimole.com\/cb:bOxR.6a5\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/021059e7440d45cba3c79e9ae03f3bbf_6.jpeg?resize=96%2C96&quality=80&ssl=1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 31 Jan 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">31 Jan 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><title>share2<\/title><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p>Danish firm Maersk will temporarily operate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/1\/30\/panama-court-rules-chinese-control-of-canal-ports-unconstitutional\">two ports on the Panama Canal<\/a> after a court ruled that contracts given to a Hong Kong firm were unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<p>The Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) announced the changes on Friday, a day after the Central American country\u2019s Supreme Court invalidated port contracts held by Hong Kong-based firm CK Hutchison.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The court ruling followed repeated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/3\/14\/pentagon-considering-military-options-for-panama-canal-access-report\">threats from United States President Donald Trump<\/a> that his country would seek to take over the waterway he claimed was effectively being controlled by China.<\/p>\n<p>According to the court ruling that annulled the deal, CK Hutchison\u2019s contract to operate the ports had \u201cdisproportionate bias\u201d towards the Hong Kong-based company.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, the AMP said port operator APM Terminals, part of the Maersk Group, would take over as the \u201ctemporary administrator\u201d of the Balboa and Cristobal ports on either end of the canal.<\/p>\n<p>Maersk takes over from the Panama Ports Company (PPC) \u2013 a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings \u2013 which has managed the ports since 1997 under a concession renewed in 2021 for 25 years.<\/p>\n<p>The canal, an artificial waterway, handles about 40 percent of US container shipping traffic and 5 percent of world trade. It has been controlled by Panama since 1999, when the US, which funded the building of the canal between 1904 and 1914, ceded control.<\/p>\n<p>Washington on Friday welcomed the decision, but China\u2019s Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing \u201cwill take all measures necessary to firmly protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies\u201d.<\/p>\n<div class=\"container--ads in-article-ads\">\n<p><span class=\"ads__title\"> Advertisement <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>For its part, PPC said the ruling \u201clacks legal basis and endangers \u2026 the welfare and stability of thousands of Panamanian families\u201d who depend on its operations.<\/p>\n<p>Tens of thousands of workers dug the 82km- (51-mile-) passageway that became the Panama Canal, allowing ships to pass from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic without having to travel around the northernmost or southernmost ends of the Americas.<\/p>\n<p>Panama has always denied Chinese control of the canal, which is used mainly by the US and China.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\"> <\/a><\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\/acceptable.html\"> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8230; 40 percent of US container <span class=\"match\">shipping<\/span> traffic and 5 percent of &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70801\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}