PANAMA CITY (March 14): Panama's government hopes China's Cosco Shipping will reconsider its decision not to use the Balboa port at the entrance of the Panama Canal, the country's minister for canal affairs, Jose Ramon Icaza, said on Friday. Earlier this week, local newspaper La Prensa published a notice from Cosco to clients saying it suspended operations at Balboa. Balboa is one of the two ports at the center of a year-long saga involving Washington, Beijing and the Panamanian ​government. When asked by reporters if Cosco's withdrawal from the Balboa port could be a pressure tactic on Panama, Icaza said: "I do not want to speculate." APM Terminals, a unit of Maersk, ​recently began temporarily operating the port for a period of up to 18 months.

Source: The Edge Markets March 14, 2026 04:14 UTC