Stevedoring · Lashing · Transshipment
When demurrage clocks start ticking, you need an operator that's already on the dock. Metro Estibador keeps Panama's transshipment chain moving — every hour of every day, year-round.
The Reality at Port
Every hour your vessel waits for a stevedore, the bill grows. Schedules slip. Cargo backs up downstream.
Transshipment is a chain of handoffs. One weak link — a missed lash, a delayed crew — and the whole route falls behind.
Vessels arrive on no one's schedule. You need an operator who answers at 3 a.m. on Sunday the same way they answer at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
"Your operation should never have to wonder if the dock is ready."
The Reframe
Metro Estibador was built around a single operating principle: the transshipment chain in Panama should never stop. We staff, equip, and dispatch so your vessel is worked the moment it berths — not after coffee, not after a shift change. The cost of being ready 24/7 is ours. The benefit is yours.
On site · Panama
Operations, every shift.
Who We Are
Metro Estibador S.A. (METS) began operations in 2013 to solve one problem the global shipping industry kept hitting in Panama: a fragmented chain of ancillary services that broke down at the worst possible times. We unified it.
Today we run one of Panama's most comprehensive 24/7 vessel-side operations, with trained crews, the equipment to back them, and the operational discipline to make "always available" mean something.
How It Works
Share vessel details, scope, and arrival window. Our dispatch line is live around the clock — by phone, email, or your agent.
Trained stevedores, lashing teams, and equipment are dispatched before you berth. No idle hours, no scrambling.
Cargo moves, the chain holds, and you continue the route on time. We file the documentation. You make the next port.
Capabilities
A comprehensive set of vessel-side and ancillary services delivered as one operation — so coordination isn't your problem.
Container and general cargo handling, gang management, and on-board supervision across Panama's terminals.
Ideal for · container lines, transshipment carriers
Certified lashing crews working to vessel-specific stowage plans. Safe at sea, fast at port.
Ideal for · deep-sea, feeder, and intra-regional services
Coordinated handoffs between vessels and inland modes so cargo flows without queueing.
Ideal for · global hubs using Panama as a pivot
Hatch teams, hold cleaning supervision, and deck operations performed under documented safety protocols.
Ideal for · bulk, break-bulk, and project cargo
Surveys, tally, securing materials, and the operational miscellany that quietly keeps a port call on schedule.
Ideal for · agents, brokers, and vessel operators
A single operations desk that answers any hour, any day. Built for the way ships actually arrive.
Ideal for · time-sensitive global operators
Need something not listed? If it keeps the chain moving, ask.
Request a scopeThe Evidence
The proof of a stevedoring operation isn't a sentence — it's a record. Here's ours.
All crews trained and certified under the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.
Pre-task briefings, signed work permits, and on-board supervisors on every shift, every vessel.
Operations executed for carriers across Europe, Asia, and the Americas — including deep-sea, feeder, and intra-regional services.
Continuity isn't a service we sell — it's the operating standard we hold ourselves to, every shift, every vessel, every year since 2013.
Operations Leadership
Metro Estibador · Panama
Get in touch
Be ready before it berths.
Reach our 24/7 operations desk and we'll confirm coverage, scope, and dispatch within the hour.
No commitment · response within the hour