The Panama Maritime Authority will automatically cancel the registration of any vessel found to be involved in illegal activities or that changes its flag to evade sanctions.
This follows an internal investigation into seven Panamanian-flagged vessels recently being placed on the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list.
The authority also introduced other steps to strengthen security and bar illicit shipments under its flag, as reported by Safety4sea.
- The authority transferred its Monitoring and Control Section from its navigation and safety department to its ship protection department, aligning it with its functions in international sanctions and merchant fleet surveillance.
- In September, the ‘Panama Flag Precheck Process’ was published, establishing prerequisites for flagging and allowing due diligence on the ship, owner, and operator.
- Panama signed the Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) to prevent ships from moving between registries to commit illegal activities or evade sanctions.
The PMA’s General Directorate of Merchant Marine is evaluating additional measures to swiftly remove vessels with proven links to activities against national interests, international instruments, or the shipping industry.
“Legal mechanisms are in place to cancel the registration of vessels included on sanction lists. This includes automatic cancellations for crimes such as smuggling, illegal trade, and piracy,” the authority said in a statement. “The Panamanian Ship Registry will not negotiate with those seeking to misuse it and will apply established legal mechanisms to ensure due process and legal security.”
