The State maintained a concession in the port area of ??the Pacific, but gradually the concessionaire has abandoned its operations

If an accident occurs with a vessel in Panamanian waters, as well as in international waters near the isthmus or in the Panama Canal -on the Pacific side-, the reaction capacity of the Panamanian State to repair these ships would be diminished or null.

The shipyard that operates under a state concession and was granted during the Ricardo Martinelli administration to the MEC Shipyards consortium for administration and operation in the Balboa port complex is closing its operations.

The situation could be complicated, since the workers who still work in the company have warned of the possibility that the bonds and policies are not in force, even though when the contract of the concession was agreed it was established that the company should consign a bond for $ 14.8 million before any eventuality.

The concession dates from 2013 and at its best it reached 2,300 workers, but to date, Pablo Linares, union leader, explained to La Estrella de Panama, there are only 18 and they fear that next week they will not be able to collect their salaries. and be the last to be dismissed.

The concessionaire pays the Panamanian State a leasing fee of $ 250 thousand, which in 2015 requested them to be reduced, but the petition was not accepted and the amount as agreed in the concession contract was maintained.

THE SHIPYARD

‘It’s not about any shipyard,’ according to Linares, it is the largest on the Pacific coast from Chile to California and serves the navy of Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, fishing vessels, tuna vessels and other large openwork

The shipyard has three dry docks, which have the capacity to provide repair and maintenance to ships like these, including those that pass through the Panama Canal, except for the post-Panamax

TRADE UNION ACTIONS

Given the situation that exists in the shipyard, the remaining workers, through their lawyer, Martín González, sent a letter to the Attorney General, Rigoberto González, in his capacity as a lawyer of the Panamanian State, in which they warn of the possible existence of punishable conducts on the part of the administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority.

Among the actions mentioned, the possible breach of the duties of a public servant is mentioned, the possible complicity in a patrimonial injury against the State, all this because the compliance bond is not in force.

Shipyard workers also sent a note yesterday to Deputy Crispiano Adames as chairman of the Labor Commission of the National Assembly.

The complainants point out that in the face of possible punishable acts, they request that the comptroller general of the Republic, Federico Humbert, be summoned to explain why a contract was signed in which the compliance bond was not recorded.

Also, do the same with the administrator of the Maritime Authority of Panama, on why nothing has been done before the abandonment of the workshops and other facilities by the concession company, without providing an explanation.

Source: La Estrella