# Puerto Cristobal (PACTB)

**UN/LOCODE:** PACTB  
**Country:** Panama  
**Water Body:** Caribbean Sea; North Atlantic Ocean  
**Harbor Size:** Medium  
**Harbor Type:** Coastal (Breakwater)  
**GPS:** 9.3500, -79.9167

More than 1.1 million TEU moved through Cristobal (PACTB) in 2024, a jump of nearly 25 percent that came just before a change of operator at the Panama Canal's Caribbean gateway. In February 2026 Panama's Supreme Court ruled the Panama Ports Company (Hutchison Ports) concession unconstitutional, and Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), MSC's terminal arm, took over the container terminal on an interim basis. The facility offers three berths for Panamax and post-Panamax vessels along roughly 1,333 metres of quay, with annual capacity near 2 million TEU. The handover runs for an 18-month transition before an international tender settles the long-term concession. As an Atlantic gateway, Cristobal serves mainly transshipment flows for the Caribbean, Central America and the Americas. Direct rail and road links connect it to the adjacent Colón Free Zone, one of the world's largest free-trade areas, supporting re-export and warehousing, while the trans-isthmian railway provides a fast link to the Pacific side and the sister port of Balboa. Within the same harbour, the Manzanillo International Terminal and the Colón Container Terminal are the natural alternatives if capacity or schedules tighten.

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*Freight Academy — Seaport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/seaports/puerto-cristobal-port-pactb](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/seaports/puerto-cristobal-port-pactb)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/seaports/en/puerto-cristobal-port-pactb](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/seaports/en/puerto-cristobal-port-pactb)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/seaports/puerto-cristobal-port-pactb/llm-summary?lang=en*