Lloyd’s List, a British maritime media outlet, reported that on the 8th to 12th of this month, Chinese ports detained 28 Panamanian-flagged vessels on the grounds of inspections, accounting for 75.7% of the total number of detained vessels during the same period, far exceeding historical levels.
On Friday last week (March 13), Lloyd’s List quoted sources revealing that Chinese maritime authorities had verbally instructed an intensified inspection of Panamanian-flagged vessels. After the first week of trial implementation, the action will be further escalated.
It should be noted that the detention of Panamanian-flagged vessels was entirely based on the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Port State Control Procedures. The inspections focused on ship safety equipment, environmental standards, and crew qualifications. No arrests or cargo seizures were made; only "safety deficiencies" of the ships themselves were required to be rectified.
Panama is the world's largest "flag of convenience" registration country (approximately 8,000 ships fly the Panamanian flag). If this high-intensity inspection becomes routine, global shipowners may choose to abandon registering in Panama to avoid risks, directly hitting its economic lifeline.
This is a set of coordinated measures.
On March 10, China Shipping Container Lines (COSCO) announced the suspension of all arrival and departure services at Balboa Port, canceling bookings. This commercial decision directly affected about 4% of the port's freight volume, and Panama has publicly urged COSCO to "return." On March 9, the Ministry of Transport of China held talks with the executives of Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) who were managing the port, verifying their compliance with regulations, sending a clear regulatory signal.
Originally, Panama might have thought that forcibly taking over the port under pressure from external forces (the United States) would make it "a done deal," but it did not expect the international arbitration by the Hong Kong Group and China's "rule-based countermeasures" would cost it a high price. Currently, Panama's port operations are chaotic, and throughput has plummeted. Meanwhile, China has used a legal method of "inspecting ships" to make Panama feel real economic and reputation pressure, yet it is difficult for Panama to find an excuse for a strong retaliation.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1859910074428516/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.