According to the latest reports from Yixiang Shipping, Lloyd's List, and several local media outlets: After the Panamanian government revoked the operating rights of a company under Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings at the ports on both ends of the Panama Canal, China launched a countermeasure. First, China Shipping containers ships canceled their stop at Balboa Port. On March 15th, it was reported that 28 Panamanian-registered vessels had been detained due to failing safety inspections.
Lloyd's List event report
Lloyd's List report data shows that between March 8-12, Chinese ports detained 28 vessels flying the Panamanian flag, accounting for 75.7% of all detentions — far exceeding historical levels.
Chinese ports detained 28 Panama-flagged vessels between March 8-12, representing 75.7% of detentions — far exceeding historical levels
Lloyd's List
Xie Zhijian, former chairman of Yangming Marine Enterprise, said that Panama is the world's second-largest ship registry country. If the Sino-Panamanian dispute escalates, it will have a significant impact on the shipping market.
Li Minghui, general manager of Yangming Marine Enterprise, said that the company has few Panama-registered vessels and is currently verifying the actual situation. Xie Zhijian pointed out that if the Sino-Panamanian dispute escalates, Panama may also prohibit Chinese-registered vessels from passing through the Panama Canal, which would greatly affect the port and canal operations of both countries. However, industry insiders pointed out that Chinese vessels can pass through the Red Sea and take the Suez Canal route instead, although the journey would be longer.
Industry insiders pointed out that China's port inspections clearly targeted some vessels with more issues. Ship companies like Yangming, Evergreen, and Wan Hai, which have high-level vessel management, should not be affected. Moreover, China also needs to consider the impact on port operations. In fact, China also has many commercial vessels registered in Panama, and there may be a large number of vessel re registrations in the future.
The Panama Canal Authority stated that China Shipping's decision to stop calling at Balboa Port accounted for 4% of the total freight volume at Balboa Port, which is a significant business volume. They hope that China Shipping will restart the operation at Balboa Port.
The State Council's Office for Hong Kong and Macao Affairs issued a statement last month, strongly condemning the Panamanian Supreme Court's ruling to revoke the operating contract of a company under Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings at the ports on both ends of the Panama Canal as "absurd, shameful, and disappointing," and stated that it will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.
Last March, CK Hutchison proposed a plan to sell 43 ports in 23 countries to a consortium composed of BlackRock and the MSC family, including the Balboa Port and Cristobal Port at both ends of the Panama Canal.
This transaction involved the U.S.-China geopolitical tensions. President Trump believed that Panama's ports were controlled by China and consistently advocated for the U.S. to strengthen its control over the canal.
A South Korean authoritative maritime news agency reported that within five days from March 8 to 12, China detained 28 Panamanian-registered vessels, accounting for 75.7% of all detained vessels during the same period — a "historical level."
It is understood that China is using traditional safety inspections known as PSC (Port State Control). Some media reports described this incident as "global shipping companies being hit."
Currently, the two ports are temporarily managed by Maersk and MSC by the Panamanian government. On the 9th of this month, the Ministry of Transport of China separately held talks with officials from Maersk and MSC regarding international shipping operations, but did not disclose the content of the discussions.
Original: toutiao.com/article/7617740972503335450/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.