Maritiem transport en het Panamakanaal
From Handelswijzer Midden-Amerika van de Koninklijke Nederlandse Ambassade te Costa Rica
Features
Panama made no commitments on maritime transport under the GATS.
Maritime transport is a highly important sector for Panama: in 2006, the contribution to the GDP by maritime transport and related activities was equivalent to 1.8 per cent of the GDP, while that by the Panama Canal corresponded to 5 per cent of the GDP. Panama has 29 major ports, 12 managed by the State through the Autoridad Marítima de Panamá – AMP (Panamanian Maritime Authority) and 17 by private operators. The AMP-operated ports are mostly small ports serving international and cabotage transport. The other seven ports, the country's largest, are managed and operated by private companies that conduct their activities under the AMP's supervision.
The port of Colon is the biggest in the country and the second largest in Latin America in terms of cargo traffic. It is on the Atlantic seaboard and handles 67 per cent of container traffic; the next most important is Balboa, on the Pacific, with 32 per cent of container traffic. Of the total cargo handled in Panama's ports in 2006, 97 per cent was import or export traffic and 3 per cent cabotage. A new cargo terminal on the Pacific involving investment of over B 600 million is being put out to tender.
Panama has the largest number of ship registrations in the world, a total of 7,183 ships of over 100 tonnes gross registered tonnage (GRT) registered in December 2006, giving a total of close to 155 million GRT, over twice that of the second largest register. If ships of lesser tonnage are included, the number of vessels registered in Panama rises to 11,019, corresponding to 178.2 million GRT.
The main policy guidelines for the maritime transport sector are to be found in the National Maritime Strategy, Cabinet Resolution No. 3 of 28 January 2004. The objectives of this Strategy are to make Panama a leader in trade, transport and logistics, industrial and maritime traffic services, and to strengthen and use to the full its maritime conglomerate (maritime transport, related and port services) in a context that promotes free enterprise and the market.
Bron: Organization of American State's Foreign Trade Information System (SICE)
