Report: COSCO Shipping Suspends Operations at Panama's Balboa Port

Chinese shipping and logistics conglomerate COSCO Shipping has suspended operations at the Balboa port at the entrance to the Panama Canal, local newspaper La Prensa reported on Tuesday.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.

In a notice to clients from COSCO, published by La Prensa, the company said empty containers must be returned to the Manzanillo International Terminal or the Colon Container Terminal, both in Colon province.

COSCO did not specify the reason for the suspension or whether the measure is temporary or permanent, the newspaper added.

The move follows a late January ruling by Panama's Supreme Court that annulled key port contracts held by Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of Hong Kong's CK Hutchison. APM Terminals, a unit of Maersk, recently began temporary operations at Balboa for a period of up to 18 months.

(Reuters - Reporting by Elida Moreno, Editing by Daina Beth Solomon)