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Straits Times
01-08-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Panama Ports says it will discuss ports sale with Panama government
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox An aerial view shows containers at the Balboa Port, operated by Panama Ports Company, at the Panama Canal, in Panama City, Panama, February 1, 2025. REUTERS/Enea Lebrun/File Photo BEIJING - Panama Ports Company (PPC) said on Friday that it will communicate with the Panama government at an appropriate time in the sale process of two key ports that it operates near the Panama Canal. "We affirm that we believe engagement with the Government of Panama is vital to discuss the way forward for PPC," it said in a statement. Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison holds a 90% stake in PPC, which had a 25-year concession to operate the Balboa and Cristobal ports at both ends of the canal, renewed in 2021. PPC's statement comes after Panama's Comptroller General's office this week filed two suits with the nation's Supreme Court aiming to nullify the contract on the basis that the renewal did not follow required legal steps. REUTERS
Straits Times
31-07-2025
- Straits Times
Panama communities challenge canal expansion project in Supreme Court
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A cargo ship sails through the Panama Canal next to the entrance of the Balboa Port, in Panama City, Panama, March 13, 2025. REUTERS/Enea Lebrun/File Photo PANAMA CITY - Communities in Panama affected by a $1.6 billion project by the Panama Canal to build a massive new water reservoir on Thursday introduced a lawsuit before the Supreme Court asking it to the declare the project unconstitutional, Coordinadora Campesina por la Vida representing farmers said. The canal, a key global freight channel, has said the project to build a reservoir in the Rio Indio is essential to expand its operations and manage its water resources, after a recent drought in 2023 and 2024 forced it to limit transits. "We want it to be understood that the Canal has not done things right, that the Rio Indio project be stopped and that a process of dialogue be opened," Santander Tristan, a lawyer for the communities, said in court. According to canal authority data, approximately 2,500 people could be impacted by the project. The groups' suit alleges that the project would violate the constitution in six different ways, including disregard for international human rights and environmental treaties to which the country is a signatory. It also alleges the canal authority failed to conduct a prior consultation with the communities affected. Florentin Chiru, vice-president of Coordinadora Campesina, a rural group which filed the suit, said that the canal authority lied when it said that 85% of the communities it polled are in agreement with the project. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 'For one last time, let's go home': Tears, laughs as last scheduled Jetstar Asia flight touches down Singapore Over half of job applications by retrenched Jetstar Asia staff led to offers or interviews: CEO Singapore No entry: ICA to bar high-risk, undesirable travellers from boarding S'pore-bound ships, flights Singapore 5 foreign women suspected of trafficking 27kg of cocaine nabbed in Changi Airport Singapore Fallen tree branch damages two Yishun flats, showering one home owner in shattered glass Singapore Man accused of raping woman who hired him to fix lights in her flat claims she made first move Singapore 1 ticket wins $12.8 million Toto jackpot draw Singapore 'Switching careers just as I became a dad was risky, but I had to do it for my family' "They have never asked the crucial question; gentlemen, do you want to leave your land, yes or no? So what kind of census is that," Chiru said. REUTERS
Barnama
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Barnama
Panama Declares State Of Emergency After Violent Protests
Protestors react at the Pan-American Highway as the police shot tear gas during Embera people's protest against social reforms, mining and the Memorandum of Understanding between Panama and the US concerning the canal and other aspects of mutual cooperation, in Arimae, Panama, June 5, 2025. REUTERS/Enea Lebrun BOGOTA (Colombia) June 21 (Bernma-Anadolu) -- The Panamanian government declared a five-day state of emergency on Friday in the western province of Bocas del Toro, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported. The decision follows a surge of violence during protests against a social security reform, which culminated in the forceful takeover of an airport and the offices of a multinational banana company. The declaration temporarily suspends certain individual rights, including freedom of movement and assembly, for the duration of the emergency. bootstrap slideshow "We took this measure to prevent radical and criminal groups from gathering to organise acts of violence, vandalism, and endangering property," Presidency Minister Juan Carlos Orillac said at a news conference after President Jose Raul Mulino urgently convened a Cabinet meeting. Protesters reportedly looted the facilities of Chiquita Panama, a prominent banana company, late Thursday in Changuinola, a town within the Bocas del Toro province. They also set fire to a soccer stadium and seized control of the Changuinola Airport, where vehicles were stolen from rental companies and personal belongings taken from terminal offices. The government has described it as "vandalism" and argued that the increase in violence in the area is "politically motivated." "The National Government informs the country that the situation in the province of Bocas del Toro has escalated dangerously in recent hours, as a result of acts of violence perpetrated by radicalised groups and criminal elements who have infiltrated the demonstrations," the government said Thursday night. Mulino deployed 1,500 police units to Bocas del Toro earlier this week in "Operation Omega" to clear blocked roads. The operation has resulted in at least 55 arrests, several injuries and the death of a young man, which is currently under investigation. Protests against the social security reform initially began nationwide in April, headed by teachers' and construction workers' unions, who initiated a strike. In May, banana workers in Bocas del Toro joined the strike, arguing that the proposed law negatively affects their benefits.
Straits Times
02-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Panama removes over 650 ships from registry amid sanctions, stricter rules
FILE PHOTO: A LPG tanker ship sails through the Panama Canal after Panama's Maritime Authority said on Friday it will reinforce controls for ship-to-ship operations by Panama-flagged vessels, following an increase in the use of \"dark-fleet\" tankers to skirt sanctions or evade environmental requirements, in Gamboa, Panama, May 23, 2025. REUTERS/Enea Lebrun/File Photo PANAMA CITY - Panama's Maritime Authority has removed from its registry more than 650 vessels since 2019 as part of an effort to fulfill U.S. sanctions and enforce stricter rules for the ships it flags, it said on Monday. A total of 214 vessels have been withdrawn from Panama's registry, among the world's largest with more than 8,500 ships, since it began implementing measures last year allowing it to act faster to help enforce sanctions, the authority added. Ships cannot sail under Panama's flag once they are removed from its registry. Panama responded to criticism by non-governmental organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which last week said Panama had not taken sufficient action against sanction violators and asked it to "immediately cease facilitating Iran's illicit oil trade" and withdraw its flag from all tankers carrying Iranian oil. According to UANI, nearly one in five vessels suspected of transporting Iranian oil sails under Panama's flag. "This is not just a failure of Panama's registry. It's a direct threat to global sanctions compliance and regional and U.S. security," it said. Panama in 2019 signed an agreement with other flag countries including Liberia and Marshall Islands to exchange information about vessels whose registrations were canceled or rejected due to potential sanction violations. It also began implementing measures against ships that deliberately turn off their transponders to avoid tracking. In May, the authority said it would reinforce controls for ship-to-ship operations by Panama-flagged vessels, following an increase in the use of "dark-fleet" tankers to skirt sanctions or evade environmental requirements. The U.S. has increased pressure on countries with large vessel registries to help enforce sanctions. U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized the expansion of a dark fleet of tankers moving sanctioned oil and threatened to take over the Panama Canal. The Central American nation is collaborating with the United States on its registry, the authority said in its press release. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Panama removes over 650 ships from registry amid sanctions, stricter rules
FILE PHOTO: A LPG tanker ship sails through the Panama Canal after Panama's Maritime Authority said on Friday it will reinforce controls for ship-to-ship operations by Panama-flagged vessels, following an increase in the use of "dark-fleet" tankers to skirt sanctions or evade environmental requirements, in Gamboa, Panama, May 23, 2025. REUTERS/Enea Lebrun/File Photo PANAMA CITY (Reuters) -Panama's Maritime Authority has removed from its registry more than 650 vessels since 2019 as part of an effort to fulfill U.S. sanctions and enforce stricter rules for the ships it flags, it said on Monday. A total of 214 vessels have been withdrawn from Panama's registry, among the world's largest with more than 8,500 ships, since it began implementing measures last year allowing it to act faster to help enforce sanctions, the authority added. Ships cannot sail under Panama's flag once they are removed from its registry. Panama responded to criticism by non-governmental organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which last week said Panama had not taken sufficient action against sanction violators and asked it to "immediately cease facilitating Iran's illicit oil trade" and withdraw its flag from all tankers carrying Iranian oil. According to UANI, nearly one in five vessels suspected of transporting Iranian oil sails under Panama's flag. "This is not just a failure of Panama's registry. It's a direct threat to global sanctions compliance and regional and U.S. security," it said. Panama in 2019 signed an agreement with other flag countries including Liberia and Marshall Islands to exchange information about vessels whose registrations were canceled or rejected due to potential sanction violations. It also began implementing measures against ships that deliberately turn off their transponders to avoid tracking. In May, the authority said it would reinforce controls for ship-to-ship operations by Panama-flagged vessels, following an increase in the use of "dark-fleet" tankers to skirt sanctions or evade environmental requirements. The U.S. has increased pressure on countries with large vessel registries to help enforce sanctions. U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized the expansion of a dark fleet of tankers moving sanctioned oil and threatened to take over the Panama Canal. The Central American nation is collaborating with the United States on its registry, the authority said in its press release. (Reporting by Elida Moreno; writing by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Leslie Adler and Rod Nickel)
