The Panamanian Supreme Court invalidated the contracts on Thursday amid repeated threats from US President Donald Trump to reclaim the waterway that the United States built and ceded to Panama. Trump says the canal is effectively controlled by Beijing.

"Conversations have been held" with "a subsidiary of the APM Moller Maersk group, which has shown willingness to temporarily assume the operation," Mulino said in a recorded message.

Hutchison and the Chinese government denounced the annulment of the contract and vowed to protect the interests of its companies.

Mulino, who has called the Hutchison contract "unfair," also said that the ports will be put up for concession again, although he did not specify when.

"Until the ruling is enforced, there will be a period of continuity for the current operator... followed by a transition period that will culminate in a new concession under terms and conditions favorable to our country," the president said.