Panama to Revoke Registration of Ships Involved in Illegality

The Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) has committed to canceling the registration of any ship found engaging in illegal actions or attempting to change its flag to dodge sanctions. This announcement follows the recent addition of seven Panama-flagged vessels to the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list.

Panama has transferred its flag monitoring and control responsibilities to a protection department and introduced a pre-check process for vessels seeking the Panama flag. This process outlines criteria for flagging and facilitates due diligence on the ship, its owner, and its operator.

In an effort to prevent vessels from switching registries to carry out illegal operations or sidestep sanctions, Panama has also signed the Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) agreement.

The PMA’s General Directorate of Merchant Marine is currently considering further actions to expedite the removal of ships found to be involved in activities that undermine national interests, international agreements, or the global shipping industry.