The Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) is set to remove 128 ships from its registry after they were sanctioned by the United States, its allies, or the United Nations, according to Ramón Franco, the general director of merchant marine at PMA, Bloomberg reported.
At least 70 tankers have already been delisted, with the remaining vessels to follow. The move aligns with Panama’s commitment to penalizing blacklisted vessels and is expected to result in a revenue loss of up to $2 million.
“We definitely are not going to be left behind in the face of current challenges of the industry and, of course, sanctions are one of them,” Franco stated at a maritime conference in Singapore.
Panama, one of the largest flag registries globally, oversees more than 8,000 ships. Its role as a flag state includes ensuring compliance with industry safety standards, equipment inspections, and crew certifications. The country revised its registry rules in October 2024, significantly reducing the time required to deregister a ship from five or six months to between one week and a month.
The decision comes amid heightened scrutiny of the “dark fleet” – older and often uninsured vessels transporting sanctioned cargo. Some of these ships have migrated to registries known for less strict oversight, while others have opted to operate without a flag.
The Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) is the government agency responsible for regulating Panama's shipping registry.