The Panama Maritime Authority has announced will automatically cancel the registration of any vessel found to be involved in illegal activities or that changes its flag to evade sanctions.
The clarification follows the recent inclusion of seven Panama-flagged vessels on the US’ Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list.
Iranian crude oil
The ships were involved in shipping of sanctioned Iranian crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas to Syria and East Asia on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and Hezbollah, said the OFAC list.
Series of measures
Panama has adopted a series of measures for avoiding having vessels included in lists of sanctions, among them:
The Monitoring and Control Section was moved to a protection department more aligned with its functions, to the Department of Maritime Vessel Security that keeps a close look the activities of international sanctions and the surveillance of the merchant fleet.
‘Panama Flag Precheck Process’
In September 2024, it published the ‘Panama Flag Precheck Process’, a circular establishing pre-requisites for flagging and allowing due diligence to be carried out on the ship, the owner, and its operator.
Panama signed the Registry Information Sharing Agreement (RISC) to prevent a ship from moving from one registry to another, trying to evade compliance with the imposed sanctions.
Illicit activities.
The AMP’s General Directorate of Merchant Marine that oversees the Ship Registry, is assessing additional measures allowing expeditious cancellation of registration for Panama-flagged vessels with proven links to illicit activities.
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legal mechanisms
There are legal mechanisms used to de-flag vessels included in the lists of sanctions such as the Merchant Marine General Law, article 49, that establishes ex officio causes for de-flagging when the vessel is used for smuggling, illegal trade, and piracy, among other crimes.
(RISC) agreement
The Panama Ship Registry will not negotiate with those wanting to use it improperly and will apply legal mechanisms to act according to due process and legal certainty, said the AMP statement.
Panama has also signed the Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) agreement to prevent a ship from moving from one registry to another to commit illegal activities or evade imposed sanctions.
