Hong Kong company Panama Ports Company (PPC) has filed a $2 billion arbitration case against Danish shipping giant Maersk, Free Malaysia Today reports.
PPC says Maersk helped Panama take over two important ports, breaking a contract and pushing PPC out of operations it had managed for years.
“Maersk undermined the contract and sided with Panama to replace PPC,” said Michael Lau, CEO of PPC.
The dispute is about the ports of Balboa and Cristobal, two key points along the Panama Canal. Earlier this year, a Panamanian court canceled PPC’s rights to run these ports. Since then, APM Terminals, a company owned by Maersk, has been running Balboa, while Terminal Investment Limited, owned by shipping company MSC, runs Cristobal.
PPC says Maersk used its facilities and information under an agreement to take over operations.
Unfairly treatment
The arbitration will take place in London. PPC says this case is separate from its legal actions against Panama itself, where it claims the country treated the company unfairly. PPC is asking for at least $2 billion in damages.
The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and is a crucial route for world trade. About 40% of all U.S. container traffic and 5% of global trade pass through it.
The ports have also become part of bigger international tensions, with the U.S. claiming, without evidence, that China tried to influence Panama-flagged ships after the port takeover – a claim China denies.
