HONG KONG (AP) — A subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based conglomerate started arbitration proceedings against Danish logistics and port group Maersk, accusing the company of aligning with Panama in a scheme to take over its port operations on the Central American country's critical canal.
The Panama Ports Company, a unit of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings, said in a statement dated Tuesday that Maersk A/S had undermined a contract over the Hong Kong company's operations of ports at either end of the Panama Canal in order to pave the way for a new operator affiliated with Maersk to take over the Balboa terminal.
The company said the arbitration will be held in London, but didn't explain what remedy it was seeking.
In February, Panama’s government seized control of the Balboa and Cristobal ports after the country’s Supreme Court declared earlier that a concession allowing the Panama Ports Company to run the ports was unconstitutional. The ruling drew backlash from China.
The Panamanian government later allowed subsidiaries of Maersk and the Mediterranean Shipping Company to take over operations at the two ports.
Panama Ports Company started arbitration proceedings against Panama in February. In late March, it expanded its claims, saying damages have escalated beyond $2 billion.
It said on Tuesday that its claim against Maersk is separate from its ongoing steps to hold Panama accountable for what it called “anti-contract and anti-investor conduct.”
Neither Panama's government nor Maersk immediately commented.
The legal actions could further complicate CK Hutchison's initial plan to sell the bulk of their dozens of global ports, including the two Panama ports, to a consortium that involved U.S. investment firm BlackRock in a $23 billion deal.
The sale plan, first announced in March 2025, pleased U.S. President Donald Trump, who has alleged Chinese interference with the critical shipping lane’s operations. But the planned sale apparently angered Beijing, and China's antitrust regulator last year said it would initiate a review of the deal.
The parties involved in the deal have since been looking for ways to move forward with the sale, including considering plans to add a Chinese investor to the consortium.
FILE - Ship containers are stacked at the Panama Canal Balboa port, operated by the Panama Ports Company, in Panama City, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - Cranes load and unload containers from cargo ships at the Cristobal port, operated by the Panama Ports Company, in Colon, Panama, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
Iran, the United States and Israel said they reached a deal for a two-week ceasefire war, with Tehran saying it would negotiate with the United States in Islamabad beginning Friday.
Trump initially said Iran proposed a “workable” 10-point plan, but he later called the plan fraudulent without elaborating.
Trump’s threats to launch devastating strikes on Iran hit a new extreme hours before the ceasefire when he warned, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if Iran failed to make a deal that included reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement Wednesday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it supports Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, but that it doesn’t include the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, where more than 1,500 people have been killed.
Here is the latest:
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Wednesday that the two-week ceasefire in the war in Iran “augurs well for the restoration of peace and stability, not only to the region but also the rest of the world.”
Indonesia also welcomed the latest development as an effort to keep the door open for diplomacy in order to promote de-escalation.
Yvonne Mewengkang, spokesperson for Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs, said: “The Indonesian government will always support any constructive diplomatic efforts, including those that have the potential to lead to a more permanent resolution, with the protection of civilians as our primary focus.”
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry in a statement praised mediation efforts by countries including Pakistan and called for a swift restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East. It said it expects the “prompt and safe” resumption of free passage through the Strait of Hormuz for all vessels, including South Korean ships.
Trump in a social media post declared the ceasefire agreement a “big day for World Peace” and that the U.S. “will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz.”
“There will be lots of positive action!” Trump predicted in his post.
“Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process. We’ll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just ‘hangin’ around’ in order to make sure that everything goes well. I feel confident that it will.”
Trump’s message on his Truth Social website signals Washington’s concern about Iran maintaining its chokehold over the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, through which 20% of all oil and natural gas passes in peace time.
Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens Wednesday morning, hours after the U.S. and Iran say they reached a two-week ceasefire in the war for negotiations.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry announced the warning.
It wasn’t immediately clear from the ceasefire when it would begin.
Iran has fired missiles on the Gulf Arab states and Israel after the announcement.
Pro-government demonstrators chant slogans as they hold Iranian flags and a poster of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in a gathering after announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the war with the United States and Israel, at the Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution, Square, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Mourners carry the flag-draped bodies of three members of the Gershovich family, killed when an Iranian missile struck their building, during their funeral in Haifa, Israel, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Men carry the coffins with the bodies of Pierre Mouawad, an official with the anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces party, and his wife during their funeral in Yahshush, Lebanon, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Iranian pro-government demonstrators burn the U.S. and Israeli flags during a gathering after announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the war with the United States and Israel, at the Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution, Square, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
