Panama Ports Company, a CK Hutchison subsidiary, has held contracts since the 1990s to operate container terminals at the canal's Pacific and Atlantic entrances, separate from the waterway's operations. The Supreme Court's decision could force Panama to restructure the legal framework needed to hold port operations contracts and potentially require new tenders to operate the terminals. Ensuring uninterrupted port operations is critical for shipping lines that rely on Panama as a transshipment hub, where containers are transferred between vessels serving multiple routes. In July, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said public-private partnerships could take over the two ports if the court invalidated the contracts with CK Hutchison. Analysts have flagged the likelihood that Panama Ports will lodge an arbitration complaint after losing the case.