Dispute erupts as Panama Canal expansion faces six-month delay

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Shipping lines, forwarders and ports in the Caribbean and the US east coast could have another six months – at least – to prepare for the arrival of post-panamax boxships moving through a widened Panama Canal.

A $573m dispute between the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), the consortium responsible for the construction of a new set of locks capable of handling 12,600teu container vessels, has thrown the centrepiece of the $5.25bn project six months off ...