Panama Moves to Deregister Four Sanctioned LNG Tankers

On November 6th, Panamanian authorities announced the start of the process to cancel the registration of four LNG tankers, following US sanctions linked to illicit activities.

The vessels in question - North Way, North  Sky, North Mountain, and North Air - will have their registrations and all related navigation documents issued by Panama revoked.

The ships are owned by New Transshipment FZE, a subsidiary of Novatek. According to US allegations, these vessels were part of the Russian "dark fleet," transporting cargo from the Yamal and Arctic LNG 2 projects.

Previously, deregistering a vessel was a lengthy and bureaucratic procedure. However, on October 18th, President José Raúl Molino signed a decree establishing a faster process for canceling the registration and licenses of vessels listed under US, EU, or UK sanctions.

Alongside the revocation of Panamanian registration and navigation documents, any Panama-recognized organizations are also prohibited from issuing classification or certification to these ships.

This streamlined deregistration process reflects Panama's response to mounting pressure from Western countries to curb illegal activities like oil smuggling and sanctions evasion, particularly those involving Russian or Iranian interests.