The Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) confirms that four vessels owned by Singapore-based LNG transport companies, that were recently sanctioned by the United States, are in the process of having their Panamanian registration cancelled.
The LNG vessels had previously been identified as part of Russia’s ‘dark fleet’, according to reports quoted by the authority.
The process began on October 4, fourteen days before the issuance of Executive Decree No. 512 on October 18, 2024, which authorizes the governing body to expedite the procedure. Therefore, it is proceeding under the current laws of the Republic.
To remind, the authority introduced a legal mechanism enabling the immediate revocation of registration and navigation licenses for vessels in the national merchant fleet that appear on international sanctions lists.
Additionally, any other navigation documents issued by the Panama Maritime Authority will also be invalidated.
The executive decree no. 512 was published on October 18 in the Official Gazette, outlining the cancellation of vessels or registered owners listed in sanctions Lists issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in the United Nations Security Council’s Lists of Individuals and Entities Associated with Terrorism and Its Financing, as well as Vessels Designated by the Security Council Committees, in European Union Sanctions – EU Consolidated Financial Sanctions List and in the United Kingdom Sanctions – Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK.
As the authority overseeing Panama’s Ship Registry, the PMA remains in constant monitoring of its merchant fleet and reiterates to the international maritime community that it will continue to defend national interests and take decisive action in cancelling vessels that misuse the Panamanian flag.
The United States government has moved to sanction hundreds of entities who allegedly facilitate the evasion of sanctions slapped on Russia in retaliation for its all-out invasion of Ukraine.
According to the U.S. Department of State, the actions imposed recently target the registered owners of four LNG carriers, as well as a UAE-based company. The four LNG carriers were “procured to expand Russia’s LNG export capacity,” the US said.
The new list of sanctioned individuals and companies announced on Oct 30 by the US Department of State are aimed at those who allegedly help either the Russian authorities or Russia’s proxies to bypass existing sanctions.
As US claims in its statement, Russian companies have engaged in efforts to procure secondhand LNG tankers, predominantly through front companies in third country jurisdictions.
Western experts claim that the sanctions are hurting Russia badly. They may have halved Russia’s economic growth prospects and created severe financial imbalances that will endure for a long time.
