Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, the administrator of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), has raised serious concerns about a $23 billion global port sale involving Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and U.S. investment firm BlackRock, warning that it could threaten the canal’s neutrality and harm Panama’s competitiveness in global trade.
Morales said the sale of ports currently owned by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings includes two key terminals in Panama, Balboa and Cristobal, located on either side of the canal. He cautioned that the deal, if finalised as currently structured, might lead to a concentration of power under one shipping giant, which goes against the long-standing principle of neutrality that governs the canal.
The Panama Canal operates under a neutrality agreement established through treaties signed in 1977 during U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s administration. These treaties led to the eventual handover of the canal from U.S. control to Panama by December 31, 1999. The neutrality clause
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