The Panama Maritime Authority has announced stringent measures for vessels involved in illegal activities or sanctions evasion.
The authority will automatically cancel the registration of any vessel that is found to be involved in illegal activities or that changes its flag to evade sanctions. This clarification comes in response to the recent inclusion of seven Panamanian-flagged vessels on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list.
The monitoring and control section has been transferred to the Maritime Ship Protection Department while in September 2024 a Panama flag precheck process has been published, a circular that establishes prerequisites for flagging and allows for due diligence on the vessel, the owner and its operator.
Meanwhile, Panama signed the Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) to prevent a ship from moving from one registry to another, seeking to commit some type of illegal activity or trying to evade imposed sanctions.
The General Directorate of Merchant Marine of the Panama Maritime Authority is also evaluating additional measures that would allow the swift removal of vessels with proven links to activities that go against national interests, international instruments or the shipping industry in general.
“The Panamanian Ship Registry will not negotiate with those seeking to use it improperly and will apply the established legal mechanisms to act according to due process and legal security,” the The Panama Maritime Authority said in a statement.
