Recently, it was reported that COSCO Shipping Group has suspended all shipping operations at the Port of Balboa in Panama. According to Panama’s *La Prensa*, the company notified customers on March 10 that it would cease port operations and cancel all confirmed bookings.

“It certainly caught us off guard,” Panama’s Minister of Canal Affairs, José Ramón Icaza, told the media at an event on March 13 local time. He noted that COSCO Shipping’s cargo volume accounts for approximately 4% of the total volume at the Port of Balboa.

“All cargo is important, and COSCO Shipping’s cargo is certainly important to Panama,” Icaza emphasized. “We obviously hope they will reconsider their decision not to use the Port of Balboa.”

According to the British publication *Lloyd’s List*, COSCO Shipping also issued an internal directive marked “urgent” to relevant parties, instructing them to stop accepting cargo destined for the Port of Balboa. Imported cargo that has already been cleared will still be delivered, but empty containers must be returned to the Manzanillo and Colón terminals in the province of Colón.