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LatinNews Daily - 24 July 2026
In brief: Panama hails fall in vessels detained by China
*Panama’s foreign ministry (Mire) has hailed a “significant decrease” in the number of Panama-flagged vessels detained by China, with just 16 detained so far this month, down from 140 in May. A Mire statement highlights that this follows the recent renewal of a maritime agreement which comes as bilateral relations have been strained following a January 2026 ruling by Panama’s supreme court (CSJ) which struck down a concession for two ports on the Panama Canal that had been awarded to Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of Hong Kong-headquartered CK Hutchison Holdings. Since then, China has announced arbitration proceedings against Panama while Panama has complained that the number of Panama-flagged vessels detained by China has significantly increased since the ruling. However, according to the Mire’s latest statement, which cites data from Tokyo MOU, a regional port State control (PSC) organisation, only 10% of Panama-flagged vessels were detained for inspections in mainland Chinese ports this month following an escalation that began in March with 21%, followed by April at 35%, May at 37%, and June at 25%.
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