Panama ports restart after state takeover amid document raids

Panama’s major container ports at Balboa and Cristóbal resumed limited operations on Feb. 27, 2026, after the Panama Maritime Authority assumed control and installed temporary managers while prosecutors executed searches of the former operator’s offices, seizing more than 100 boxes of records. The quick restart followed a court and executive action that stripped the legal basis for the previous concession and prompted a stabilization campaign intended to minimize disruption to global trade.

The takeover began after a Supreme Court ruling issued in January found Law 5 of 1997 and its 2021 extension unconstitutional. The ruling, issued in January, found Law 5 of 1997 and its 2021 extension violated constitutional rules on public contracts and national assets. Publication of the decision in the Official Gazette and Executive Decree No. 23 authorized the Panama Maritime Authority to occupy the terminals and essential assets for “urgent social and economic reasons,” the government said, while promising no permanent property loss.

On Feb. 23 the maritime authority moved into the terminals, removing senior Panama Ports Company executives from operations and placing the sites under temporary management. Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong‑based CK Hutchison, described the action as unlawful and said it would pursue legal remedies. “Over a short period of time on the morning of 23 February, government representatives arrived without invitation to the terminals and informed representatives of PPC that the concession no longer exists and that PPC must cease operations, and instructed that PPC employees would be transferred out of PPC, must not communicate with PPC, and must comply with government instructions, under threat of criminal prosecution. The state now has control of the terminals,” the company said.

Anti‑corruption prosecutors, led by Azael Samaniego and assisted by the Panama Maritime Authority and the National Directorate of Judicial Investigation, searched three locations in Albrook, Panama City, removing in excess of 100 boxes of records. Authorities said the probe is examining potential crimes linked to incomplete or withheld operational documents submitted to regulators during PPC’s nearly three‑decade tenure.

Maersk’s APM Terminals began temporary operations at Balboa under an 18‑month stabilization plan, and MSC’s Terminal Investments Limited took control at Cristóbal for the transition. APM Terminals Panama completed an inventory of assets, began staff training for a new terminal operating system and reported it had placed 82 percent of employees into positions. During midweek tests the company reported 500 container movements, handled a second ship the next day, serviced a dry bulk vessel carrying rice, continued vehicle deliveries and dispatched three additional trains from the port.

“During this initial stabilization phase, our responsibility is to ensure that Panama maintains the continuity and reliability of its logistics hub, while safeguarding cargo and protecting the safety of all the workforce. This process requires speed and precision, so that the port can progressively resume operations once the system installation is completed, along with other operational, audit, training, and verification tasks that our team will be carrying out at the port of Balboa starting today,” Marliz Bermudez, CEO of APM Terminals Panama, said in the company release. “We recognize the challenge the company has taken in this unprecedented process, yet we remain fully committed to Panama. We will work closely with our customers, authorities, and employees to ensure they receive clear and timely information on the progress of this stabilization phase.”

The government emphasized that the temporary arrangements will remain while it develops a new long‑term concession framework. Panama’s minister of labour and labour development, Jackeline Muñoz, sought to calm workers, saying, “I want to give the assurance that the work of each of the Panamanians who are in this port is guaranteed.”

Key questions remain: exact dates and legal texts for the decree and court publication, the full scope and contents of the seized records, the formal contract governing APM and TiL’s temporary management, and any legal filings by PPC or CK Hutchison. Authorities said operations will be ramped up toward full capacity shortly while the probe and transition proceed.