Denmark's Maersk buys Panama Canal railway

[demmiblue]

Deal loosens US control of train link at a time when Trump is seeking to ‘take back’ trade waterway

Danish shipowner AP Møller-Maersk has acquired a railway connecting the ports at either end of the Panama Canal, in a deal that loosens US control of the train link just as President Donald Trump seeks to assert Washington’s influence in the Central American country.

Maersk’s ports business APM Terminals announced on Wednesday that it had acquired the Panama Canal Railway Company, which operates a 76km line that runs adjacent to the waterway and transports cargo between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The railway was bought for an undisclosed sum from US-based Lanco Group and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, which operates across North America.

The deal has been signed despite mounting US pressure over the Panama Canal, a key passage for American and global trade, with Trump threatening this year to “take it back” under American control.

https://www.ft.com/content/cb460c62-b587-4900-a0c5-722f6c2548d4

[Lovie777]

1. Mexico is on it too...................

[hlthe2b]

2. Well that's going to twist some already too tight "whities" (diapers)...

[WestMichRad]

3. Hoo boy!

This is gonna be entertaining to watch!

[KT2000]

4. Norway is the wealthiest country

Maybe they will throw down as well.

[exboyfil]

5. It could be that containerization can be so optimized

That rail and on and off ship makes more sense than floating large ships through the canal. I haven't followed it, but now it sounds like we have two rail options (Panama and Mexico).

[wnylib]

6. Good move. More of this, please.

[Historic NY]

7. Its enough to drive Trump off the rails....

they don't know how the canal works or how big it is. Denmark, Denmark... he'll be throwing ketchup

[catchnrelease]

11. Same...

I came to say that the ketchup will be flying today!! (good!)

[riversedge]

8. Denmark again. ha ha.

[newdeal2]

9. Sounds like a bargaining chip to protect Greenland

If so, smart move.

[riversedge]

10. photo......

https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/ftcms%3Ac0b2223c-10d2-4eb8-85d0-d200eda30336?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=2
Although the railway’s capacity is more limited than the Panama Canal, the link has offered an attractive alternative during a recent drought that curbed shipments through the canal © Rodrigo Arangua/AFP/Getty Images

[HAB911]

12. So that is what a Danish middle finger looks like!

[madinmaryland]

13. Heh! Now trump is going to build a train line Greenland..