The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has entered into a significant memorandum of understanding (MOU) with major UK ports operator, Peel Ports, which owns the Port of Liverpool, as the latter gears up for the formal opening of its new Liverpool2 container terminal in early November.

The agreement was signed October 24 by ACP Administrator Jorge L. Quijano and Mark Whitworth, Chief Executive of Peel Ports Group, during a formal visit to the Port of Liverpool by a senior delegation from Panama.

High profile Panamanian government and business leaders including Roberto Roy, Minister of the Canal, and Alejandro Moreno, Deputy Administrator of Panama Maritime Authority were shown around the port by Peel Ports’ Chief Operating Officer Gary Hodgson.

They were joined by the UK’s Panama Ambassador, Ian Collard, and Ariel Perez Price, the UK’s Director of International Trade in Panama.

The formal agreement creates a strategic alliance aimed at facilitating international trade and generating new business by promoting trade routes between Liverpool and the west coast of South America via the Panama Canal.

“Liverpool and Panama have both responded to the growth of the global container ship fleet with major investment programs in recent years to accommodate newer generations of container ships,” said Whitworth. “The opening of the expanded canal has the potential to open up new markets for trade and has the potential to shift international trade patterns.”

“The Panama Canal Authority has made considerable investments in recent years to expand its lock gates and thereby unlock the potential for a new generation of neopanamax vessels to cross quickly between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans,” said Collard. “At the same time, the development of Liverpool2 provides an opportunity for the Port of Liverpool to develop its role as a destination for these larger vessels and create a new stream of traffic across the Atlantic.”

In June of this year, Peel Ports’ executives were guests of the mayor of Panama during the inauguration ceremony of the newly expanded Panama Canal. During the visit they met key Panamanian political and business leaders as part of the canal expansion event.