Chinese Companies in Panama

COSCO

In May 1986, COSCO established a shipping agency in Panama to assist COSCO ships in transiting Canal. Then, in order to provide services for COSCO North America Container-liner in Panama port, COSCO America Company formed a joint company, COSCO Panama Maritime S.A. (abbreviation, COSCO Panama), with America Norton Lilly International Inc.

The headquarter of COSCO Panama is in Panama City. At the south and north end of Canal, there are two embarking offices in BALBOA port and CRISTOBAL port. The services that they provide include: freight agency service, ships' transit agency service, owner safeguard, crew relief, crew debit, spare parts transporting and supply, ship technical support, fuel oil and materials supply etc.

Hutchison Whampoa Limited

Panama Ports Company (PPC) operates the ports of Cristobal and Balboa located at each end of the Panama Canal. PPC is committed to transforming the two ports into major hubs to serve the Atlantic and Pacific trade routes.

The Port of Balboa Container Terminal offers 350 metres of deep-water quay and 8.4 hectares of container storage area, equipped with three super post Panamax quay cranes and 16 RTGs.

Phase III of Balboa Container Development Project, includes the construction of 270 metres of deep-water quay and 7.5 hectares of container storage area, equipped with three super post Panamax quay cranes, 5 RTGs, and the modernization of 220 metres of quay equipped with two Panamax quay cranes for feeder operations.

The Port of Balboa will also offer 820 metres of quay for self-sustained operations of all types of cargo.

After completing all phases of the modernisation programme, Balboa will have 1,500 metres of deep-water quay, 50 hectares of container storage area, 12 super post Panamax quay cranes and 28 RTGs.

Evergreen

Following congestion on the US West Coast towards the end of 2004, the pressure has been on carriers to launch additional services via the Panama Canal . The Evergreen Group has responded to this challenge by introducing new services of its own and complementing these with slot charter arrangements with other carriers.

Together with Cosco Container Lines (Coscon), Evergreen Marine Corporation (EMC) is launching a new service linking China with the southern states of the United States .

Designated the CUE service, it will link the ports of Shanghai , Yantian and Hong Kong with Evergreen\'s Panamanian hub terminal, Colon Container Terminal (CCT), Savannah and Miami . Over CCT, Evergreen offers established feeder links to to ports in Central America, the Caribbean and the north and west coasts of South America.

Using nine ships, each of around 2,700TEU, five from Evergreen and four from Coscon, the CUE service will be operating a regular weekly schedule with effect from May but the first sailings will commence on an ad hoc basis in mid March, augmenting Evergreen\'s existing Asia - US East Coast services.